Team Gimmick
by Cynthia Smit
Summary: When the Kazekage's wife discovers his plan to turn their unborn son into a monstrous weapon for the village, she runs away, and tasks her sister with raising her child in secret. This decision has far-reaching consequences for all of the great Nations. This is not the original story
1. Chapter 1

Haruno Kizashi stared down at the tiny baby, lips quirked into a fond smile as she yawned hugely and blinked her large, emerald eyes up at him from the harness strapped to his chest. Mebuki snorted at him from where she walked next to him.

"Sap," she said fondly.

"Only for my little Sakura-chan," he replied, grin wide.

Kizashi once again silently thanked the Hokage for assigning him to the diplomatic mission to the Land of Iron as his punishment for 'accidentally' dropping the Elders' Council wagon into a quagmire on an escort mission. Even if he and the Hokage both knew the old bats deserved a lot worse than some mud ground into their robes.

It was on his two year mission that he met and married Mebuki, after all. Raised by samurai but never initiated into their ranks, she was strong, focused, and knew her way around a sword. He fell in love with her the first time she punched him in the face for making fun of her Samurai-like clothing and bearing.

They stopped and made camp, bickering lightly. They were sitting around a fire when the woman stumbled into the camp, falling to her knees and clutching a bundle to her chest. Both he and his wife were immediately on their feet, weapons in hand. Mebuki held Sakura in one arm, body turned so she was between their infant and the possible threat.

"M-Mebuki," the figure rasped, and Kizashi growled when he realized this threat was personal. He was cut off from replying, however, by his wife, who hadn't lowered her weapon, but had relaxed fractionally in shock.

"Mai?" she whispered, and the figure trembled.

"Nobody has called me by that name in a long time, little sister," the figure rasped, still cloaked in shadows and kneeling just outside the firelight.

"I'm only younger by two minutes," Mebuki said in a distracted voice, and Kizashi's eyes widened at the implications. He knew Mebuki had a twin sister - he also knew that she hadn't seen her since she had run away, dishonored, five years ago. Nobody had ever given him a reason for her defection.

The figure chuckled, then broke off into wet coughs. Mebuki's face twisted in indecision, a strange look on his wife's face, before it hardened into determination - and that expression was more familiar.

"Mebuki..." Kizashi said in a low, warning voice that he already knew would have no effect on her. She turned and gave him a steady look, and he let out a breath and took their somehow still sleeping child from her. She then darted around the fire, and knelt by her sister's side. She gasped, and Kizashi stiffened.

"Oh, Mai, what have you gotten yourself into this time," Mebuki whispered, and helped the kneeling figure stand, leading her over to the fire.

"The worst kind of trouble," Mai said, and Kizashi had to work to keep his expression blank as the she stepped into the firelight. She looked so much like Mebuki that it was shocking. Her blond hair was longer than Mebuki's, and matted with sweat against her head. Her eyes were the same bright green, and even with her obvious illness she held herself erect. In the woman's arms was a small wrapped bundle, and over the coughs of Mai and the crackle of the fire, he could hear the unmistakable sounds of a child cooing.

Mebuki helped her sister sit by the warmth of the fire, then hurried to get her some water and food. Kizashi sat silently across from her, watching closely for any signs of trouble. He trusted Mebuki, though, and if she wasn't worried about an attack from her sister, he wouldn't be either. Finally, the woman held up a hand to stop her fussing. "Enough. Introduce me to your man."

Mebuki smiled a little. "Ah, this is my husband, Haruno Kizashi. In his arms is our firstborn, Sakura."

Kizashi couldn't help the rush of warmth that went through him at her obvious pride, but he kept it off his face and gave a small nod as she studied him before snorting. "You always did like the weird ones - pink hair? And what's up with that style?" Kizashi just shrugged, he was used to those types of comments. Usually from opponents right before he kicked their ass.

Mai's eyes lingered on his headband. "And a shinobi, my oh my, what did our honorable father have to say about that?" the woman finished lightly, but Kizashi could hear the bitterness beneath it.

"Eh, you know father. I talked him around." Mebuki said.

The woman just hummed. "So I suppose you're on your way to Konoha, then?"

Mebuki nodded. "Yes - I'll be living there."

Mai took a deep breath that rattled. "Well, I suppose I'm being rude." She shakily held out the bundle to Mebuki, who took it carefully, and unwrapped the infant enough to reveal a tuft of hair that shone red in the firelight.

"He's beautiful," Mebuki breathed. "His eyes -!"

Mai gave a soft smile, which looked strange on her strained face. "Ah, they are the same as yours and mine."

"And Sakura's," Mebuki said, looking up at her sister and smiling, and Kizashi could suddenly see how close they had been before they were separated. No wonder his wife never wanted to discuss the circumstances of her leaving.

"Good, that's good," Mai said, before breaking into a coughing fit for a few minutes. Suddenly, his wife was handing him the other infant and she rushed to get her sister more water. He blinked in surprise, and adjusted both of the babies until he had one in each crook of his arm. He looked down and raised an eyebrow. They were close in age - off by maybe a month or so. Sakura's hair was pink, and Gaara's was red, but their eyes were identical - large, and emerald green, just like their mothers'.

Finally, Mai's coughing stopped, and she spent some time catching her breath before speaking again. "Meet your nephew. His name is Gaara," she whispered, and her face was full of pride and sorrow. "He is also the son of the Kazekage."

Mebuki jerked in shock. "What -!" Kazuki froze as the implications hit him.

"Are you telling me," he said in a low, dangerous voice, "that I'm currently holding the kidnapped child of a Kage?" The only thing keeping him from leaking killing intent in his rage was the two infants in his arms - it wasn't good for the development of young children.

"I think," Mebuki said in a low voice, "That it's time you told us why you're here."

Mai gave a small bitter smile. "After I left, I wandered for awhile - years, really. Picking up jobs as a mercenary where I could, living the life you and I always said we wanted. Two years ago, I ended up in Sand Village. Got into some trouble I was having difficulty fighting my way out of. That was when I met him . The Kazekage." her eyes had turned inward, obviously lost in memory. "He was so strong, and fierce - he took out the men giving me trouble in seconds. After that - well. I admit I was infatuated. He looked at me and saw me ..." Mai shook her head and gave a wry smile. "Anyway, it went quickly after that. I never told him my true name, or where I was from, and he never asked. I think he knew it wasn't something I liked to think about."

"Then, ten months ago, I found out I was pregnant. I was so happy, but his reaction was...it was strange. Almost a grim satisfaction. He already had two children from another wife, so I didn't understand why he treated the pregnancy like it was an acquisition he'd been working towards. I knew something was wrong but didn't want to see it..."

Kizashi and Mebuki exchanged glances but didn't interrupt. "One day, I heard two of his high-ranking men talking. They...they were going to turn my baby into a monster ," she said, and Kizashi started a little at the rage. "Not just a jinchuuriki, but a purposefully unstable one, one that would supposedly act as a deterrent to other villages. I knew my husband was desperate to gain back power after the last Shinobi War, but...I didn't think he'd go so far as to curse our baby to that life."

The woman stopped and took a few shallow breaths. "So I ran. I was pursued, of course, but running and tracking were always my strong suit growing up. I gave birth in a medium sized village, and left a false trail there - they'll find the cremated remains of a woman and infant that died in childbirth." Mebuki sucked in a sharp breath of surprise, but Mai wasn't finished. She was looking down at her feet now.

"Sister, I know I have asked for too much in our lives together, but I would hope that you do one last thing for me," Mai whispered, and Mebuki took her hand.

"What is it?" his wife asked.

"I am dying," Mai said bluntly, and Mebuki reared back as though struck, but her sister continued on without remorse. "I am fading quickly. Please, take my Gaara in as your own. Raise him alongside your Sakura. Do this one last thing for me." Mai turned her determined, fevered gaze on Mebuki, and grabbed her hands. "Please, sister."

In his arms Gaara was looking around with his wide, green eyes, so like his own daughter's that his heart clenched. "We'll do it," he found himself saying.

000

Sakura bit her lip, and looked over at her brother, who was staring nervously at his shoes. "We'll do fine," she whispered, and his eyes darted over to her from where they were barely visible under his mop of red hair. "We're close to top of the class, no way we won't pass," she said with a small smile, then reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him inside.

The sight of the Haruno twins dragging each other around by their clasped hands was a normal one, and nobody looked twice at them as they entered the classroom. Sakura bypassed a group of girls giggling over Sasuke, and felt a pang of sadness as she met Ino's eyes. The day Sakura had stopped pursuing Sasuke was the day they stopped their almost life-long friendship.

Sakura had been just as bowled over as most of the kunoichi in her class by the boy's dark, brooding air and beauty. Completely blind to his faults, she'd stalked him with the rest of them - until That Day. It still made her blood boil to even think about it, and Gaara had to tug on her hand when she found herself glaring at the Uchiha, who didn't even twitch.

They had started free sparring the year before That Day, and Sasuke's brutality had always seemed cool. And then Gaara got called up to spar against him. Sakura remembered the way her blood had run cold, and the almost-panic in her brother's eyes. Surely, she had thought, surely Sasuke wouldn't be so brutal with sweet, kind Gaara?

He had been. He had taken her brother down viciously, and sneered at him while he sat in the dirt with a bloody nose. Sakura had...lost her temper. It was the only time anybody had landed a punch on Sasuke, and both of them now held a grudge over the incident. Ino had never forgiven her for embarrassing Sasuke, and Sakura had never forgiven Ino for caring more about her crush than Gaara. Because Gaara was Sakura's to take care of, Sakura's shy, sweet, too-intelligent brother, who shared the same dream as her, and nobody was allowed to make him sad. No matter how dreamy they were.

"Gaara!" a loud voice called, and Sakura winced. Speaking of sacrifices she had to make for him...

"H-hello, Naruto," he said in his bland, quiet voice, but his eyes had brightened and a small smile appeared on his lips at the blonde's excited waving. She dragged her feet as she followed his sedate pace up the stairs. She tuned out the blonde's flailing and chatter as she slipped into the aisle seat next to Gaara, who was in the middle, nodding along with whatever Naruto said from his spot next to the window. Naruto was the first and only friend Gaara ever made by himself, and the only person he was actually comfortable with outside of Sakura, so she just had to suck it up and deal with it. Even if the annoying blonde kept asking her out.

"And this time, I'll pass, believe it!" he yelled, throwing his arms out and accidentally smacking the top of Shikamaru's head where it was lying on the desk behind him.

The boy's annoyed eyes slitted open and met Sakura's. "So troublesome," he grumbled before closing them again, and Sakura rolled her eyes then turned her attention to the front. After all, she had a test to ace.

That night they were both sporting headbands at dinner. It should have been a happy occasion, but Gaara was obviously down about it.

"Listen, Gaara, we'll go see him tomorrow at lunch, okay?" Sakura said gently. "He can try again next year - we'll help him practice!" she said, and tried not to grimace at the thought of more time spent with the excitable blonde. Gaara sent her a hopeful look, knowing how much it cost her to volunteer. Though Sakura tried not to complain about his choice in friends, they couldn't really hide anything from eachother - not when they'd lived in each other's pockets for the past twelve years.

"Perhaps we could...leave early in the morning, to check on him?" She almost groaned at his hopeful face, but just slumped over.

"Fine," she mumbled as her dad laughed at her in the background. Yeah, she was a sucker for her brother, she knew.

The next morning the door was opened by a frantic and half asleep Naruto. "I'm going to be late!" he yelled in Gaara's unruffled face, and Sakura rolled her eyes before doing a double take.

"You - you have a forehead protector! But how -" Naruto gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, well, you know. Iruka-sensei ended up passing me last night, because I'm awesome!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air. Sakura and Gaara exchanged dubious looks, but didn't comment.

"We brought you breakfast," Gaara said serenely, and she knew what he really meant was I will stare at you with my sad, green eyes until you tell me the truth of it later. She was intimately familiar with his information gathering techniques.

Sakura made a face at Naruto's apartment, but knew better than to comment. Gaara hated it when she eluded in any way to the fact that Naruto was an orphan who lived alone, because Gaara had a bleeding heart that hated to see his small circle of friends even a little sad.

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing the wrapped rice ball from Gaara's hand. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the Academy, Naruto chattering on about his future as an 'awesome ninja.' Sakura sighed and stopped listening, and eventually they entered the classroom - hopefully for the last time.

Naruto immediately made a beeline for Sasuke and his fangirls, Gaara following at a more sedate pace, and Sakura veered off to sit next to Chouji. Who would her team be? Her father had told them it was a 50/50 chance on whether Gaara and Sakura would be on the same team. On one hand, twins tended to work well as a unit - they could read each other's movements, and were likely to have a good dynamic. On the other, it could be problematic in a three man cell. Integrating another full person into the equation could be tricky. Kizashi had lectured them extensively on the importance of teamwork, and being able to work with people outside of their little two person crew. If they did get put on the same team, they would be conscious of the fact that they needed to make room for a third.

Sakura's thoughts were brought to a screeching halt when she glanced down and saw Naruto fall face first into Sasuke. She buried her face in her hands so she didn't have to watch the fallout. Ten minutes later a sulking Gaara and battered Naruto were in the seats across the aisle from her, and she couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her. Her brother was so adorable when he was pouting, and she wanted to enjoy it while she could. Chouji smiled at her and offered a chip, and she grinned before accepting, ignoring Ino's judging eyes. The one time Sakura had decided to try and go on a diet with the other girls in her class, Gaara had solemnly brought her six books on nutrition - three of which focused on nutrition for shinobi - and lectured her until she'd given in.

"If you want to be as strong as Sofu, you must nourish your body," was his closing argument. Her brother was such a dork, but he was right.

Finally, Iruka arrived, and Sakura straightened in excitement, listening closely as he began to name off the team lineups.

"Team Seven is Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura bit her lip and looked over at Gaara, who was now holding himself stiffly and staring at his hands. She knew he'd been hoping for a team lineup of Naruto, Sakura, and himself. She crossed her fingers and prayed that she at least would end up on his team. He was so shy - what if he ended up with someone like Ino? She'd tear him apart!

Team Eight is Haruno Sakura, Haruno Gaara, and Inuzuka Kiba." Sakura cheered, and Gaara sent her a small smile, his eyes softening. Kiba slumped ahead of them and mumbled something about being with the 'bookworms.' Sakura glared at his back, but couldn't really deny it. Gaara and Sakura were both top of the class academically. They weren't that physically impressive, though they'd insisted their father give them extra training at home after That Day. Neither wanted a repeat of that.

Actually, if Sakura were to rate the boys from most annoying to least annoying in her class, Kiba would probably come in second - Naruto and Sasuke were tied for first. She shot Hinata a sympathetic look, but the girl was too busy hyperventilating to notice. The Hyuuga was getting some glares from her new teammate's fangirls, but since she never showed an interest in Sasuke before, they weren't as venomous as they could have been.

She tuned back in when she heard Ino's name. She was on Team Ten with Shikamaru and Chouji, much to her distaste. They were released for lunch, and Gaara and Sakura exchanged a look and nod before standing in tandem. Sakura moved to follow her brother down the stairs, but was cut off by Naruto leaping in front of her.

"Sakura-chan! We should celebrate by going out to ramen!" he shouted.

"Idiot!" she yelled, barely resisting the urge to hit him. "Didn't you hear Iruka-sensei? We're supposed to eat with our teams!"

"Oh...right. Hehe." he scratched the back of his neck nervously and looked away, and she growled in annoyance.

"Ugh, you're so...Hinata!" she yelled, and the girl's face whipped over to her, eyes wide. "Naruto-kun wants to have lunch with you and Sasuke at a ramen stand." Sakura pushed the orange clad boy towards her, ignoring his stumble and Hinata's red-faced stuttering, and finally joined Gaara, who was standing next to an obnoxiously laughing Kiba and watching her with one eyebrow raised.

"What?!" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was nice! I helped him talk to his teammates."

Gaara just sighed but didn't comment. "Kiba and Akamaru have agreed to accompany us to lunch," he said, and Sakura gritted her teeth when the boy rolled his eyes at Gaara's formal speech, but kept her mouth shut, instead just nodding. Sakura didn't have to ask who Akamaru was - the whole class learned pretty quickly after a few students tried to treat him like a pet and got bitten for it.

They made their way to a BBQ restaurant close to the Academy in awkward silence, quietly thanking the hostess. Ino's team had also come to the restaurant, and Sakura returned the blonde girl's glare and ignored her mouthed 'forehead.' Shikamaru was slumped over, valiantly attempting to ignore Ino, and Chouji was ordering what sounded like half the menu.

Sakura purposefully chose a seat that put her back to the annoying girl, and for a moment the four of them just stared at each other. Finally, Kiba broke the silence.

"So, you're twins," he stated, and Sakura stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Because they'd been in the same class for how many years - it was common knowledge that Sakura and Gaara were, in fact, twins.

"So," Gaara deadpanned, "You have a ninken partner." For a moment Kiba stared at Gaara suspiciously, and then Sakura giggled. Kiba looked between the two and gaped for a minute.

"Did you just... make a joke?" Kiba burst into raucous laughter, and Gaara's lip quirked up on one side and he dipped his head bashfully. "Oh, man, I didn't even know you had a sense of humor."

"Idiot, everybody has a sense of humor," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, and he just shrugged off the insult and grinned.

"Well, I've barely spoken to him - to either of you before, so how would I know?" he asked easily. Before she could answer the waitress appeared, and they spent a few minutes ordering drinks and food.

After a slightly stilted conversation over lunch, they returned to the academy. They were the last back to arrive, and ended up in a seat in the middle of the classroom. When their team was called by a gorgeous, red eyed woman named Yuuhi Kurenai, Sakura had to hold herself back from cheering, though she did shoot Ino a smug look. She got a badass kunoichi as her role model, which was way better than Ino's bearded sensei who smelled of cigarette smoke - even if he was the Hokage's son.

They followed Kurenai across the lawn and through the woods to a small training ground that was currently empty, and all sat on a log facing her when she motioned for them to do so.

"Okay, let's start with introductions. Please include your interests, goals, and why you decided to become a ninja. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. Please feel free to call me Kurenai-sensei. I am a genjutsu specialist, and have been a jounin for just under a year. My interests include studying psychology and traveling. My goal is to prove that kunoichi can be just as strong and accomplished as shinobi. I was inspired to become a strong kunoichi by my father, who is a well respected jounin."

Sakura thought there might be stars in her eyes after hearing her sensei's goal. So cool! Kurenai gestured to Kiba to go next, who stood and grinned. "My name is Inuzuka Kiba, and this is my partner, Akamaru!" the little dog barked from his spot on Kiba's head. "I like running around with my friends and Akamaru and playing pranks on my sister. My goal is to learn all of the Inuzuka clan jutsus and to become the right hand man to my sister, who is the future clan heir. As for why I want to be a shinobi...I guess I just want to honor the Inuzuka name!" he finished cheerfully, and sat down.

Gaara stood next, and though to others he probably seemed calm Sakura could tell he was nervous. "My name is Haruno Gaara. I like being with my sister and learning new things. My goal is to become a proficient medic-nin. I decided to follow this path after watching a medic-nin save my sister's life from a mortal wound."

After this shocking pronouncement, Kiba was gaping at him, while Kurenai studied him thoughtfully. Before they could comment, Sakura stood, adjusting her red dress nervously.

"Um. My turn?" Kurenai turned her red eyes to her and inclined her head. "Okay, my name is Haruno Sakura. I like hanging out with my brother, and I also like learning new things." she ignored Kiba's snort, and continued. "My goal is to become a kenjutsu expert to honor my mother's heritage. I decided to become a kunoichi when a leaf nin named Sofu and her team saved my mother, Gaara, and myself from missing-nin hired to kill us while we were out of the village visiting our grandfather. I decided that I also needed to become strong so that I could protect people too." Sakura cleared her throat and sat down, looking at her shoes as their new teammates stared at them.

"Well," Kurenai said after a moment. "I'd like to do a little exercise with the three of you." she pulled a scroll from her thigh pouch and tossed it to Gaara, who caught it easily. The three of them studied it for a moment before Kurenai spoke again.

"I want you to take the scroll, and cross through the woods on our right into Training Ground Thirteen. Do you know where that is?" she asked, and Kiba nodded, though Sakura and Gaara both shook their heads.

Kurenai hummed. "You should take the time to learn all of Konoha, if you are to be responsible for protecting it," she said, and she wasn't scolding them, exactly, but Gaara cringed and Sakura blushed. They did tend to spend too much time indoors reading, which their father kept insisting wasn't going to do them any favors if they never went beyond the front door.

"Yes, sensei," they both said, and the woman nodded before giving them a general outline of the area around them. Sakura listened closely to the landmarks, committing them to memory.

"You have until nightfall to meet me there - that's about three miles away," Kurenai said, then disappeared.

The three of them exchanged looks, and Kiba grinned and jumped up. "Oh man, this will be so easy!" he exclaimed. "Three miles in three hours?" He started off towards the tree line, but stopped when he noticed the Haruno siblings weren't following him. Instead, they seemed to be exchanging meaningful looks.

"Oi, you guys coming, or what?" he asked, annoyed, and Akamaru gave a bark of agreement.

"Um, Kiba," Sakura said hesitantly, "Don't you think it's a little strange that she gave us so long to complete the task?"

He cocked his head to the side. "What do ya mean?" he asked, and Sakura chewed on her bottom lip.

"Well, I think this must be some sort of test, or maybe she wants to get an idea of our skills, which probably means it's not just a simple matter of crossing through the trees," she said, and Gaara nodded next to her.

"Yes, it is likely we will encounter some sort of trap, or possibly an ambush," he supplied.

"Since she said it's her specialty, a genjutsu is likely," Sakura said thoughtfully, and Gaara nodded. Kiba looked between the two, taking in what they said.

"Yeah, guess that makes sense," he finally said, and both of the twins relaxed. They'd been accused of being know-it-alls more than once, and were worried their teammate would feel the same way. "So what should we do?"

"Um," Sakura said. "Iruka-sensei said Gaara and I were pretty good at noticing genjutsu, so if we do we'll try and dispel it for you. Also, I think Akamaru will be able to tell, and if we're stuck in one he can give us a light bite to pull us out of it." Akamaru barked, and Sakura grinned.

"And other than that, I guess we should just move carefully and look out for traps," she said with a shrug.

"Perhaps we should take a slightly circuitous course, instead of going on the quickest route. Kurenai-sensei might have put more traps on the obvious path," Gaara offered in a quiet voice. Kiba gave them an impressed look.

"Heh, guess all that readin' was good for something after all," he said cheerfully.

"Maybe...Kiba should take point, since he has better hearing and smell and is familiar with the territory? Then Gaara can be in the middle and I'll take the rear," Sakura said firmly. Gaara sent her an annoyed look at her obvious ploy to put him in the most secure location, but didn't say anything, as he didn't like to argue with her in public. Well, at all really, but he could be stubborn when he wanted. She just sniffed, and gave him a look that she hoped said You'll just have to get used to it, you're the medic-nin .

Kiba's chest had expanded a little at being made point, and soon they were entering the woods about a hundred feet from where they had their first team meeting, and were creeping carefully into through the undergrowth. They walked as silently as possible - Kiba with more success than Gaara and Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru with their noses in the air.

Sakura and Gaara both kept their eyes on the surrounding scenery, nerves making them a little jumpy. After about fifteen minutes, Kiba held up a hand. "Wait -"

Kurenai dropped down on them from above, only Kiba's quick reflexes when he grabbed the boy and pulled them both out of the way keeping Gaara from being taken down with a hard kick from the woman. Sakura had jumped back, too, but was now separated from the boys.

Kurenai turned to face her, and Sakura let out a little meep as she came after her in a roundhouse kick. Sakura barely ducked out of the way, and frowned when she didn't feel any of the telltale wind whipping over her head that usually came with just barely missing a hit from a jounin (her dad didn't hold back as much as somebody might think he would when sparring with his little girl).

Sakura brought her hands together and pulled her chakra in towards her core before expanding it and yelling Kai! The image of Kurenai bearing down on her with a kunai in hand immediately disappeared, and Sakura barely had time to breath out in relief before her attention was pulled to the boys, who were...fighting each other?

Crap, they're under a genjutsu, too! Poor Akamaru had obviously taken a hit, and was limping around the circle trying to get close to the fighting boys, letting out a whine when Kiba, obviously the better fighter, landed a punch and Gaara fell back with a grunt. Sakura took that moment to dart forward and put her hand on Kiba's arm, pushing chakra into him until he reeled back, shaking his head.

Behind her, she heard her brother yelling kai, and knew he must have figured out they were in the genjutsu before Akamaru had to bite him. For a moment they all stared at each other, before Kiba let out a sheepish laugh.

"Oops?" he walked over to Gaara, who was slowly climbing to his feet. "Ah, was that me? Sorry man," Kiba said, and Gaara shook his head.

"I think I may be the cause of Akamaru's injury, so it's me who should apologize," he said guiltily.

Akamaru barked cheerfully, and Kiba shrugged. "Nah, he's alright. Thanks, Sakura-chan," he said with a wide grin. "That was really cool. How did you know?"

Sakura blushed, and shrugged. "I didn't feel the wind when one of Kurenai's kicks barely missed me. I think it was probably harder to tell for you because you were fighting a real opponent who was under an illusion to look like Kurenai-sensei. How did you know, Gaara?" Sakura asked as she patted the dirt off of his red jacket. He sighed at her but put up with the fussing.

"That hit - it would have been much harder coming from a jounin, even if she were to pull her punches," he explained, and Kiba scowled at him. Gaara winced when he realized how that had sounded, but before he could apologize Kiba was motioning for them to continue.

"Come on, if we keep running into stuff like that, it might take us awhile," he grumbled. Akamaru growled at Gaara before they moved on. Sakura put her hand on her brother's arm, who was looking a little dejected.

"Meh, boys are always so sensitive," she whispered to him, quoting one of Ino's favorite sayings after she'd pushed Shikamaru too far and he'd left in a lazy huff. Gaara raised an eyebrow at her, and she knew it meant and I'm not a boy?

She grinned at him. Not to me!

Kiba led them around a pit trap after another ten minutes of walking, and Gaara kept them from tripping a wire that did who-knows-what when he spotted the sun glinting from it. They had just spotted what Kiba assured them was training ground thirteen when Kurenai dropped out of the tree in front of them, a smirk on her face.

"You three made it through my traps - that's good. But you still have one more obstacle until your objective is complete - me," she then sent three kunai their way, forcing them to scatter.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, ricocheting off the tree. "Dynamic marking!" Akamaru leapt into the air towards Kiba who grabbed onto him sent him spinning through the air towards Kurenai. The woman's sharp eyes focused on the little white canine, and Sakura threw a kunai at her, hoping to pull her attention from whatever attack the dog was going to do. The woman simply blocked the projectile with the one in her hand, jumping back from Akamaru, who was...Sakura gasped in disgust. Akamaru was peeing on their sensei . Or well, he would have been if she didn't jump out of the way, eyebrow raised at her student, who just laughed nervously as Akamaru landed and scrambled to go stand next to Gaara, who was closest.

Sakura bit her lip, mind working frantically for an idea, before Gaara's gaze met her own from where he was standing about five feet to her right. His eyes flicked from his position to the clearing, and she almost hit her forehead when she got what he was communicating. Right, the mission was to get the scroll to the clearing - not to defeat Kurenai. She nodded, and Gaara leaned down to whisper something in Akamaru's ear. The little dog straightened, seeming just as chagrined as Sakura had, before turning to Kiba and letting out a series of barks.

At the end of it, Kiba also looks sheepish, but then they were all dodging senbon and Kiba was trying to avoid Kurenai's kicks and Sakura found herself flying backwards into a tree when she went to try and assist him and how did that even happen? Sakura knew that Kurenai had to be holding back, but the difficulty they were facing even just getting away was staggering. Jounins were scary.

With a huff, Sakura slipped behind the tree she just had an intimate encounter with as Gaara solemnly joined the fray, and Kiba tossed a pill at Akamaru, who expanded in size, and then Kiba was yelling "Four Legs Technique," and Sakura's eyes widened when his whole body became coated in chakra, and his features became more beast-like. Swallowing, she quickly made a clone and henged it to look like Gaara as her brother came flying towards her after Kurenai tossed him easily.

He looked over, gasping for air, and she glanced at him then at the clone, then pointed at him and mimed running to the clearing with two fingers. He pursed his lips, obviously not wanting to leave her, but after a moment, gave a small nod, and dove towards her as Kurenai slung senbon at him. He ducked behind the same tree she was using as a hiding spot, and gave her a fierce look. Don't do anything stupid.

She raised her eyebrow at him. Please, like I would. And then she and her clone were giving battle cries and darting out from behind the tree, running at Kurenai just as Kiba and Akamaru recovered from being tossed across the clearing and dashed towards her. Sakura made sure she approached Kurenai first, to buy time before she realized Gaara was a clone, but had barely put forth a punch when she saw her instructor's gaze sharpen on the clone.

Panicked, knowing she was about to run after Gaara, Sakura aborted the punch, and did something that was not taught in any classes. As Kurenai raised her knee to send a kick at Sakura, the girl leaned into it. Her air left her in whoosh as the limb connected with her torso, but she ignored that in favor of latching onto the leg like a spider monkey.

Kurenai faltered for a moment. "Wha-"

"Kiba! We need to buy Gaara time!" Sakura said just as her clone dispersed. Kiba and Akamaru didn't even falter, and soon Kurenai had the addition of a small white dog hanging from her long red sleeve and Kiba latched onto her other leg.

After a moment of struggle, she sighed, made a handsign, and the two genin and Akamaru found themselves clinging onto a log. They blinked at each other in shock before scrambling to their feet and sprinting for the clearing. When they got there, a sheepish-looking Gaara was handing the scroll to Kurenai, who looked bemused.

"Well," she said when they arrived, "I have to say, that was one of the stranger ways I imagined you passing." Kiba and Sakura both shifted uncomfortably. Oh no, did I ruin it for all of us with my stupid plan?

"Wait, whatdya mean, passing?" Kiba broke into her thoughts, and Sakura blinked as she realized what he had. This had been a test of some sort - but a test for what? Gaara exchanged a look with them and shrugged, indicating he didn't know either.

Kurenai smiled. "You pass the test to become genin, of course. If you had failed, I would have sent you back to the Academy."

All of their jaws dropped. Finally, Kiba spoke. "But - but we already took the exam to graduate already!" Akamaru growled, and Gaara and Sakura simply looked to the woman for explanation, who shrugged, and motioned them over to sit in a patch of grass with her.

Only when they were sorted did she speak. "That was a test to graduate from the Academy, not to become genin. Only nine of your classmates will be keeping their jounin-sensei. Can any of you guess why it is set up this way?"

"But that - that's not fair!" Kiba said, jumping to his feet. "Everyone worked hard to get to this point, and now they just have to start over?" Kurenai simply raised an eyebrow at him, and after a moment he huffed out a breath and sat, looking to the side with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well? Does anyone have a guess?" She repeated.

"Perhaps," Gaara said slowly, "It is due to a lack of resources." Kurenai gestured for him to continue. "The village does not have nearly as many jounin as those of other rank, simply because not everybody can achieve that level of proficiency."

Kurenai nodded. "Yes, that's part of it for sure. Those who are put in three man cells with a jounin sensei are usually put on what we call the jounin track. That means the village sees potential in you to make it to a higher rank, and so we put more time and resources into preparing you for this responsibility."

"And what about everybody else?" Sakura asked, curious, even as she and Gaara exchanged giddy looks (okay, Gaara's lip quirked up) at the thought of the village seeing potential in them .

Kurenai hummed. "Well, there are a few different options that will be set before them. The first, is that they can go back to the Academy for another year and try for the jounin track next time. A few might even be encouraged to do so. The second is that they will join the Genin Corps." Kiba snorted, and Kurenai gave him a sharp look. "The Genin Corps. serves an important role in this village, and should be treated with respect. They may not have a lot of physical power, but they keep the village running in a way untrained civilians could not. Please remember this." She stared at Kiba until he ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Some may be recommended for the Medical Corps., if they have the correct study habits and good enough chakra control. Many of our staff at the hospital are not certified for field work, but pick up the majority of the patients that come in, freeing up the Medic-nins, with their additional training and chakra reserves, to take on missions out of village and the more complex injuries."

Gaara had leaned forward in interest at this, and Sakura reached out and squeezed his hand fondly. "Some are taken on as apprentices, if an individual shinobi sees something in them that their jounin sensei may not have, or if the jounin-sensei recommends they continue on the jounin track without a team. And others still decide to go on a different path. They might be hired on as merchants, since their Academy training makes them useful in fights against normal bandits and gives them extra stamina for travel and work. So, please, don't worry too much about your comrades, though I applaud your loyalty."

There was a moment of silence as they all thought on her words, and then Kurenai began talking again. "Now, let's talk about why you passed," she said, and Sakura frowned.

"Didn't we pass because we got the scroll to the clearing?" Kurenai gave a small half smile at her question.

"That's part of it, but the true purpose of the test was not to see if you could get through the forest. It was to see how well you work as a team, and under pressure. There was the possibility that you would make it through and I would still not pass you. There was also the possibility that you did not make it but would have still passed."

Kiba grumbled something about never saying what you mean, and Kurenai laughed. "Well, you should probably get used to that, if you're going to be a ninja. There's a saying we go by: Always look underneath the underneath."

Kiba frowned. "Huh?"

"I believe she means that you should always look for hidden meanings in all your interactions." Gaara supplied. Kurenai nodded, and Kiba huffed.

"Can anybody guess what you did right?" Kurenai asked.

Sakura tapped her bottom lip with a finger, thinking. "Well, we recognized and dispelled the genjutsu," she said, hesitantly. "And Kiba smelled your pit trap and Gaara saw the wire for your other trap."

Kurenai nodded. "That was good, but it wasn't why I passed you. First of all, you showed forethought when you stopped to think about the assignment before just taking off into the woods. You identified possible issues you might run across, and discussed ways to counter. You even came up with a formation that would allow Kiba to use his senses to identify traps, with Sakura and Gaara in a good place to sense and dispel genjutsu, since you both have higher than average chakra control and are more likely to notice something. Also, the three of you worked together to find a way past me to complete your mission, instead of just focusing on the fight. That all told me more than any fancy fight moves or life changing strategies would have. And though the last bit at the end was...unconventional, it did buy your teammate the time he needed," she said with a small quirk of her lips. They all beamed at each other at the praise, and Sakura couldn't help the pride that welled in her chest. Because she had passed - she was going to be a ninja!

"Now," their sensei said, "Let's talk about what you did wrong." Their faces fell.

000

Kurenai had to fight a smile as she made her way to the Hokage's office to report in. Were all genin that small and adorable? She had been able to read every thought that came across their faces. They were just so hopeful and innocent. She entered the room, and bowed when the Sandaime greeted her.

"Please, sit down, Kurenai. Tell me of your new team." She didn't bother asking how he knew she had passed them - the man seemed to know everything, and leaf jounin quickly got used to accepting that.

"They are a very focused group," she said after she had settled in her chair. "The twins are both highly intelligent, just as their files suggested. Kiba thinks more with his instincts, but was willing to listen when they stopped him to make a plan. I admit I had a few concerns about putting the Harunos on the same team, but I was reassured today that it shouldn't be a problem."

"Explain," the Hokage said, watching her closely while he puffed on his pipe.

Kurenai paused to gather her thoughts. "They are extremely close, as is to be expected of twins. My first worry was that there would be no room in their bond for a third member. However, they easily included Kiba in their plans, and Sakura worked well with him in a melee setting as well as trusting her brother to break out of a genjutsu on his own while she assisted Kiba. The second worry was that they would be more focused on keeping each other safe than the objective. This also proved to be incorrect when Gaara allowed Sakura and Kiba to fight me off and buy time for him to complete the mission I had given them."

The Hokage hummed. "Tell me of the mission." Kurenai straightened, and went into report mode. At the end, when she described the way Sakura had clung onto her leg like a monkey to keep her from going after Gaara, the man had a small smile on his face.

"They are a team that truly personifies the Will of Fire," he said, then sighed and looked at his desk, troubled.

"Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked. "Is everything okay?"

"I am afraid you will leave this office in a much worse mood than you entered it, Kurenai-san," he said, and she straightened in her seat, putting her face into an expressionless mask even as her thoughts raced. Would he force her to fail her team after all? Was she being reassigned?

"I requested that specific team formation for a reason," he began, and she cocked her head to the side. It wasn't surprising - Team Seven was always a heavy hitter, front line formation, and Team Ten would be following in their parents' footsteps as a bag n' tag and support team. When he didn't continue, she raised a brow in question. With a sigh, he met her gaze.

"Reconnaissance and Sabotage." Kurenai stood so fast her chair toppled, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"You - you gave me a team of cannon fodder!" she said before she could stop herself, then cringed at the look on his face. She turned away and took a few deep breaths, then calmly lifted the chair and sat back down. "Please forgive me for my outburst, Hokage-sama," she intoned, and he sighed.

"You know we need a team specialized in this, and I'm sure you can already see how they would do well in the role. Kurenai-san," he looked her right in the eye, "There is a reason I gave this team to you. I believe you can not only nurture their skills and make them extremely good at the job, but that you can make them good enough to live through it at the end."

Her jaw worked, and for a moment she didn't trust herself to speak. So this is why her team was the only one without clan heirs on it. If they all died horribly, it wouldn't have an impact on the political structure of Konoha. Finally, she trusted herself to speak. "I understand, Hokage-sama. I would like to request extra resources for their training."

"You have them, whatever you need," he said calmly. "And Kurenai-san, I want you to know this is not something I intend to force upon them. I'd like you to give them a choice. Lay out the realities for them, and let them know that this is simply a request from me, not an order." Kurenai relaxed a little at that. Usually teams didn't get much of a choice on where their skills would be focused on a higher level, but this way it felt a little less like they were being forced into an early death.

"I understand, Hokage-sama. Is there anything else you need?" Kurenai asked.

"No, that will be all, Kurenai-san," she would have grimaced at how tired he sounded if she wasn't trying so hard to control her facial expressions. "And Kurenai-san," he said as she reached for the door handle. She paused, and looked back at him, surprised to see the fire in his eyes. "I am counting on you. Do all you can to give them the tools to come back alive."

Kurenai met his gaze, and felt an answering fire in her own heart. Determination filled her, and she gave one short nod before leaving. Her team would survive, and they'd be the best damn reconnaissance and sabotage team the village had ever seen.


	2. Chapter 2

The next week was spent doing team training in the mornings and one to two d-rank missions in the afternoons. Team training usually consisted of either one-on-one or group sparring for an hour, a follow-up hour where Kurenai lectured them on what they had done right and what they hadn't, along with with some one-on-one work on their taijutsu. Kiba, unsurprisingly, almost always won the sparring matches. The last hour was spent on chakra control exercises, which Gaara and Sakura sailed through and Kiba was average at.

D-ranks were boring, and Kiba spent a lot of time complaining bitterly about them, but he never shirked on his work. Whether it was weeding gardens or babysitting the children of nobles, he went about each task with a single minded enthusiasm that both Gaara and Sakura found impressive.

Sakura was actually waking up looking forward to spending time with her team each day, despite Kiba's over abundance of energy and quick temper. He was always careful of Gaara, whose gentle nature and quiet disposition had won Akamaru over within the first few days. He was also pretty funny, and never took his teasing too far.

They'd been a team for about a week and a half, and were walking back to the administration building after their second mission of the day, paint splattered but content, when they turned around a corner and came face to face with Team Ten.

Ino raised an eyebrow at Sakura's sweaty, messy hair, falling out of the ponytail she'd quickly pulled it back into when she realized Kiba wasn't great at getting the paint where it was supposed to go, and the dirt and paint marring her dress.

"Looking as attractive as always, forehead," she drawled with a sniff, and Shikamaru sighed next to her in a long-suffering way.

Sakura shifted in discomfort and barely kept herself from bringing a hand to her hair while she glared at Ino. Before she could say anything, Kiba beat her to the punch. "It's pretty pathetic, huh?" he said almost casually, and Sakura started before sending him a hurt look. Gaara slowly turned his head to stare at Kiba in disbelief before he continued. "I mean, you get up early to make yourself look like that, probably spend hours on it," Ino straightened and preened a bit at his words as he continued, "I bet you even hold back in practice and missions so ya don't get all mussed up." The girl looked less sure of his words now, but didn't say anything, and Shikamaru's focus had turned fully to the Inuzuka while Chouji shifted uneasily in the background.

"Yet Sakura here gets up, gets ready quickly because we start practice early, works just as hard as Gaara n' me even if she gets dirty, and still ends up looking better than your ugly mug ever could."

Sakura's jaw dropped open in shock along with Ino's, and Kurenai, having caught up to her team after stopping to chat with a chuunin she knew, smacked the back of his head. "Kiba!" she scolded, but Sakura had heard her really scold them enough times to know it was half-hearted. Which meant she probably heard the comment Ino made that started the whole altercation.

Ino's hands had clenched into fists, and a vein was popping on her forehead. "Like anything a mutt like you says matters," she hissed, and Asuma groaned.

"Ino, don't be -"

"Better a mutt than a pig," Gaara said calmly, and Sakura stepped in front of him when it looked like Ino might lunge for his throat.

"That's enough," Kurenai snapped, and the room around them darkened. "This is conduct unbecoming of a shinobi of the leaf. Team Eight, after we report in, you will run three laps around the village."

Their mouths dropped open in horror, and Kiba cringed. Yesterday they had run just one lap and it had been torture. "Aw, Kurenai-sensei, it's my fault, Gaara and Sakura shouldn't have to -"

"You are a team, so you will take your punishment as one," Kurenai said in a no-nonsense voice.

"That's right," Sakura said, and sent him a smile. Despite the punishment, she couldn't help but feel warm at the way Gaara and Kiba had come to her defense. Kiba blinked when he realized Gaara was smiling at him too, and turned red, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Aw, guys..."

Kurenai sighed as she realized they were pretty much unrepentant, but then turned her attention to Asuma, crossing her arms over her chest and staring him down until he hunched in on himself a bit and sighed.

"Right, um, Team Ten will be joining you. It's...very bad to insult your fellow leaf kunoichi, Ino. And Chouji and Shikamaru, you should have...stopped her?" he said the last like a question, looking to Kurenai, who nodded.

Shikamaru's and Chouji's faces had morphed into masks of horror. "But, sensei - !"

"No buts!" Asuma said, having straightened under Kurenai's regard. "Next time, you'll think twice about letting your teammates break the rules, and hopefully Ino will begin to understand that her actions...have consequences for the rest of you!" He said the last as if he'd just had an epiphany, and Sakura could have sworn she heard Kurenai sigh while the missions assignment desk chunin snickered at them from behind their hands.

It was an exhausted and sweaty Gaara and Sakura that stumbled home that evening after saying goodbye to Kiba. The boy had apologized for getting them into trouble, but Sakura had just thanked him shyly for coming to her defense.

"Hey, Kiba's actually pretty cool, huh?" Sakura said to Gaara as they staggered upstairs under the amused gaze of their mother.

"It was very good of him to defend you," he said softly.

"You were pretty cool too." Sakura sighed. "We should make a pact to just ignore Ino-pig, though, because I do not want to have to run that many punishment laps again."

000

The next morning they did their usual sparring and chakra control exercises, but instead of heading to the tower, Kurenai led them to a small clearing out of the way of passerby, and pulled out a picnic basket.

"We won't be doing any missions today. Instead, I wanted to talk to you guys about something important," she said after they'd settled on a blanket and started in on the sandwiches their sensei had brought.

"Sure, Kurenai-sensei, what's up?" Kiba answered for them. She quirked a smile at him, but then went back to being completely serious.

"The Hokage has made a request of Team Eight." She put her hand up before Kiba could pepper her with enthusiastic questions. "Before you answer, I want you to go home and think very carefully about it. No matter what you decide, nobody will think less of you."

Gaara and Sakura exchanged worried glances before focusing on Kurenai. "We understand, sensei," Gaara said calmly.

The woman sighed, and looked out over the clearing before continuing. Sakura realized whatever this was had the woman worried. "What do you know about specializations in teams?" she asked.

"Most teams are trained for a specific purpose, such as front line heavy-hitters, intelligence, or tracking," Gaara supplied, and Kurenai nodded.

"That's right. Now, what do you think this team's specialty is meant to be?"

Sakura furrowed her brow, and glanced at Kiba, who shrugged. Gaara also seemed perplexed. "Well...I guess we could be a support team?" She said hesitantly. "Gaara wants to be a medic-nin, and Kiba has his clan techniques. I'm...well, I did well with traps and on written tests in the academy..." Sakura trailed off, and frowned.

Kurenai hummed, and looked at them. "I'll tell you what pulled the attention of the Hokage and prompted him to team you up. Gaara and Sakura, you are both extremely intelligent, and as you said, scored high in traps and intel gathering. You both also have extremely good chakra control. Gaara is listed as a potential medic-nin, since he's already shown interest there, and Sakura, you are listed as a genjutsu type. Kiba and Akamaru are also quite smart, though they're geared more toward tracking, stealth and combat."

The three genin blinked at her, and Kurenai sighed. "The Hokage would like to request that you specialize in Reconnaissance and Sabotage."

Sakura tipped her head to the side, but it was Kiba who voiced their thoughts. "What's so bad about that?"

Kurenai's face tightened. "It is considered to be one of the most dangerous specializations for a team to have. The average lifespan of somebody in this type of work is eighteen years old," she said bluntly, and Sakura couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her. Gaara had tensed and reached for her hand, and Kiba was uncharacteristically silent.

"If you agree to the Hokage's request, you will be filling a much needed role in the village. Reconnaissance and Sabotage teams are responsible for getting sensitive information to the village, preventing war, and even striking blows from behind enemy lines. Your talents are particularly suited to this. Gaara, you would provide support as a medic-nin and I would also have you take on a secondary focus in trap setting. Sakura, you would be the close-range combat specialist with your kenjutsu, and you would have a second specialization in genjutsu. Kiba, you and Akamaru would be the tracking and heavy combat specialists, with a third specialization in interrogation. All three of you would be required to become proficient in stealth, intel gathering and survival techniques. Your high combined intelligence scores weighted on one team was done on purpose, as half of your job will be creative problem solving."

Kurenai took a deep breath and met each of their gazes in turn. "If you accept this, I will not go easy on you. You will wake up with the sun, and you will train until it goes back down. I will make you faster and more well-prepared than all of your peers combined. You will become a cohesive unit. You will train together and bleed together. You will share each success and failure, because if one of you fails, you all do. I will do all of this with one goal in mind: to give you what you need to survive."

Kurenai took another deep breath, and for a moment they were all silent, reeling from what she just said. "And if we choose not to?" Gaara asked.

"Then you will not be punished in any way. I will train you as a general support team, and once you become chunin you will separate into your chosen specialties."

Sakura's head snapped up from where she'd been frowning down at the floral print on their picnic blanket. "Separate?"

Kurenai inclined her head. "Yes, you would probably be on the ANBU track, Kiba in tracking and combat, and Gaara as a floating medic-nin."

"But if we say yes to the Hokage's request, we will remain a team?" Gaara said thoughtfully, and Kurenai nodded.

"Yes - all of your training would be geared into making you a permanent unit, as I said. Now, I want you all to take the evening to think about it. Discuss it between yourselves and with your families if you want. Please, do not make this decision lightly."

They nodded, and helped their sensei pick up their lunch. She gave them a gentle smile before she left. "Whatever you decide, I'm proud to be your sensei," she said.

After she was gone, Kiba sighed and put his arms behind his head. "Well, whatever you guys decide, I'm in," he stated, and Akamaru barked in agreement. Sakura and Gaara stared at him in shock. "What? Ma always said I'd go where the Village needed me most. If the Hokage needs me on the hard stuff, then that's what I'll do. Plus, I guess you two aren't so bad to have as partners. You don't look down on me just 'cause you're smart and you're nice to Akamaru."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, because really her thoughts on Kiba in the beginning hadn't been very charitable, though that test Kurenai gave them had changed her mind pretty quickly. He misinterpreted her discomfort, though, and quickly added, "Not that I'll be upset or judge ya or nothin' if you guys decide not to do it. I'll be fine joinin' the tracking and combat units."

"I am also in," Gaara said, and Sakura whipped her head towards him.

"Wha -" Sakura started, but he cut her off.

"If we refuse, you and I will be separated, which would make the whole reason I decided to become a medic-nin moot. Also, if you joined ANBU you would be in just as much danger as if you had stayed on our team, but I wouldn't be there to heal you and watch your back." He was silent for a moment. "I'd rather spend my next six years with you than two decades as a medic-nin without you."

Sakura stared at her brother, eyes wide. "I - I won't join ANBU then. I'll become a medic-nin instead..."

"No," he said, and met her eyes. "I know you want to keep me safe, but if you give up your dreams for me, I swear I will find the most dangerous specialty possible."

Kiba burst into laughter as Sakura gaped at Gaara. Finally, she sighed and looked down at the ground. She didn't doubt he meant it. The thought of being separated from her brother was painful, but she couldn't help the knot of fear that formed in her chest at the thought of him dying ...

"Sakura-nee, I want this," he said in a quiet voice. "I know you do to."

Another moment of thought, and she raised her head, body suddenly blazing with determination. "Okay," she said. "Okay, but if we do this, we do it right. We learn everything we can and we always, always come back alive."

Kiba gave a feral grin, and Akamaru yipped in excitement. Gaara returned her gaze and his lip quirked up in a smile. "Right. Okay, here's to Team Eight," Sakura said, and put her hand out, palm down. After a moment, Gaara place his on top of hers. Kiba sighed, but added his as well after picking up Akamaru so he could put in his little paw. When they released their hands into the air Kiba made the sound of an explosion, and Sakura giggled while Gaara broke into a grin.

From where she was hiding in the trees, Kurenai squeezed her eyes shut before taking a deep breath, then left to start setting up the extra training her team would need to survive.

000

Kizashi was Not Happy. This didn't happen very often, as he was extremely laid back, especially for a ninja of higher rank. He figured it was probably because he chose to specialize in bodyguarding, which didn't involve as much blood and terror as some of the other shinobi arts.

He had been a tokubetsu jounin for seventeen years, and never once in that time had he treated his Hokage with anything less than respect. Until now. He had stomped past the chunin at the front desk, ignoring his protests, and burst into the office. Then stopped and blinked when he saw a snarling Tsume was already present, the Hokage sitting calmly and listening to her rant without complaint.

"So I see your kids told ya that the Hokage has decided to send them to their death ," she growled, and Kizashi gave a short nod.

"Please close the door, Kizashi-san," the man said without rancor, and if Kizashi slammed it a little, well. He'd stayed up listening to his wife cry half the night, he was entitled to a temper tantrum.

"Reconnaissance and Sabotage? You would put my children - both of my children - on what is essentially a suicide squad? Do our youth really mean so little to the leaders of our village?" Kizashi hissed, and Kuromaru growled and bristled in agreement from his partner's feet.

"Do not," the Hokage said, the air around him darkening ominously, "doubt my resolve to keep the children of our village alive."

Kizashi simply met his eyes, unrepentant. He had lived through war, he knew the life expectancy of those teams, and they almost always died together. The thought of losing not one child but both of them was unbearable. Gaara might not be his by blood - though nobody but he, Mebuki, and Mebuki's father was aware of that little fact - but he loved him just as much as he did Sakura. He was his son in all the ways that counted.

Finally, the Hokage sighed, and was just a tired old man again. "Please, sit down, and I will explain myself."

"How can you possibly come up with any explanation that will make this okay?" Tsume growled.

"I said, sit," he commanded. They sat. He sighed and rubbed at his temple before picking up two pieces of paper and handing them to them. They glanced at each other before looking down. Kizashi's brow furrowed.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Your children's training schedules," Hiruzen said, chewing on his pipe.

"This is...not a normal regime for genin," Kizashi said, looking at the list with a raised eyebrow.

"It is not. The council has been pushing me to create a Reconnaissance and Sabotage team for awhile now. I was hesitant, as I understand exactly what the fate of these teams tend to be. I did some research into past formations, and I realized that, unlike other dangerous jobs, the training is not historically as intensive as the programs created for other high mortality units, such as ANBU."

Tsume sent him an unimpressed look. "So, what, you're gonna run 'em into the ground? Why not wait until they're older?"

"Because we need them to pick up the habits that will let them survive now," the Hokage said bluntly. "I believe, and Kurenai is determined, that with extra, focused training, this squad will have better luck than past ones. It should also be noted that the team is being formed outside of wartime conditions, which means they'll have a chance to wet their teeth on missions that are less dangerous at the beginning of their careers."

Kizashi stared at the paper, closing his eyes as he realized he was looking at the end of Sakura and Gaara's childhood. He also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Sarutobi Hiruzen was more lenient than most kages would have been - even allowing them to vent their frustrations to him - but he was still a kage, which meant his word was law, at least when it came to his soldiers.

"I assure you, with all the resources I am putting into them, I have no plans to send them to their deaths," the Hokage said dryly, and Tsume looked down for a moment before glancing over to Kizashi. In her gaze he saw everything he himself was feeling - anger, helplessness, fear...he nodded, and as one they stood.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Hokage-sama," Kizashi said. The leader of their village looked at them with a sad, resigned air, and nodded.

"Of course."

They left together, and without discussing it headed to a sake bar that was open twenty four hours a day. They had sat down and downed a drink and asked for another before either spoke.

"Well, shit," Tsume said, and Kizashi couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.

000

The next two months were the most intense of Team Eight's life, and all of them regretted agreeing to the Hokage's request at one point or another. Kurenai wasn't kidding when she said they'd be training all day, every day. They met on the village walls at six am, and Kurenai led them in a timed run around the perimeter - which was about twenty miles. She expected them to cut their time by at least five minutes every day. If they didn't, she forced them to run a second punishment lap.

Then, their sensei would put them through a series of stretches that was more painful than a relief and had them bending into shapes Sakura hadn't thought were physically possible. To her surprise, Kiba was was already extremely flexible.

"Aa, gotta be bendy to do our clan jutsus without tearin' anything," he said, and somehow shrugged while his legs were crossed behind his head. Sakura and Gaara had winced, and worked at getting their own less flexible limbs to cooperate.

They'd then go and eat breakfasts so large that Ino would probably pass out in horror if she saw before heading to the training grounds and sparring for a few hours or doing some sort of horrible 'survival' exercise that Kurenai thought up. The afternoons were spent in an empty classroom in the Academy, to Kiba's horror.

They all learned about the flora and fauna in different regions throughout the elemental nations - what was edible, what was poisonous, how to find it, how to tell if water was contaminated and so on and so forth. They also were given access to historical texts and scrolls that Sakura and Gaara could only have dreamed of before. Information was not something that was freely given in the shinobi world, and politics and history were especially shrouded in mystery.

Kiba didn't exactly take to that part, but Kurenai had just shrugged and said 'that's why you have a team' and started taking him out for extra combat lessons while Sakura and Gaara soaked up the information like green-eyed sponges.

They would then break for dinner, before separating to their individual training. Gaara went to the hospital to work under a medic-nin, Kiba stayed home to work on his clan jutsus, and Sakura headed back to the training grounds to work on her swordsmanship.

Her kenjutsu teacher was an ANBU member, to her surprise. Kurenai had introduced him as Rooster, then left them to it after giving Sakura a long bokken. Rooster was a brutal but efficient teacher. He only ever spoke to bark orders at or reprimand her, and she'd spent more than one practice in tears.

"I don't care if you cry while you do it, but you will hold your stance," he'd growled once, and she'd stared over at his red and white mask in surprise. It was the longest sentence he'd ever spoken to her.

On Saturdays they met a little later - eight am - and Kurenai spent the mornings putting them through their paces on genjutsu. They learned how to identify and dispel them in just about any conditions Kurenai could come up with. It turned out that she'd gone easy - really easy - on them in their test. Kurenai was a genius illusionist. In fact, Sakura and Gaara's father had told them that she was considered the best genjutsu mistress in the village.

Akamaru couldn't be put under a genjutsu, so generally he got to laze around while they were being terrorized, confused, and generally humiliated by illusions. They all agreed that the worst ones were the subtle, layered genjutsu that made your aim just a bit off, or had you seeing flickers of things that didn't exist out of the corners of your eyes, distracting them long enough for Kurenai to get a good hit in, or, on one particularly memorable occasion that they agreed to never speak of again, send them walking straight into a scummy, smelly pond.

On Saturday afternoons Gaara went back to the hospital, and Kiba and Akamaru went to a separate training ground with Rooster - who Sakura and Kiba agreed was both a talented shinobi and a horrible person - to 'get his ass kicked,' as Kiba liked to describe their sessions. Kurenai had dryly explained that he was learning melee tactics against a single strong opponent or multiple opponents, when Rooster felt like bringing his team along.

"You're going to be facing people who are stronger, faster or just plain outnumber you frequently in your job. The only way you'll be able to complete your mission and get yourselves home is by being better prepared and smarter than them. Rooster-san is one of the Hokage's best instructors for combat and survival - you should feel lucky that he's giving us so much of his time." She had given them a soft smile, but the glint in her eye told Sakura and Kiba that they had better show Rooster respect, or else they'd be running some extra laps of the village. Both of them shuddered.

Sakura stayed with Kurenai and started learning the subtle art of genjutsu while Akamaru and Kiba shuffled off with Rooster. And it really was subtle - the hardest part of casting good illusions wasn't the act itself, but the thought that went into it. Situational awareness, a more than passing knowledge of human psychology, and a creative mind were all just as important as excellent chakra control. If she wove a genjutsu that barely changed the colors of the leaves around them, or forgot to have somebody's breath crystalize in the air on a cold day, it would give away the game to an observant enough person.

So Sakura weaved genjutsu after genjutsu under teacher's gentle but watchful eye until she was completely drained every Saturday. Kiba, Akamaru and Gaara would stumble back to the training grounds, looking worse for wear in different ways, and then Kurenai would take them out for a team dinner. They spent the time reviewing the week - what they'd done right, what they'd done wrong, and discussing what they'd learned.

Sundays were their 'off' days, though in reality Gaara spent it calmly reading and memorizing the texts that his mentor at the hospital gave him, and Sakura used it to study geography, politics of the five great nations, and psychology, and Kiba studied battle tactics - the only form of studying he'd actually taken to. Of course, he also still fared much better in all of their sparring matches.

In general, they were tired, sore, and dirty about ninety percent of the time, and Sakura had taken to crawling into bed with Gaara and crying herself to sleep those first few weeks. If one of them faltered, however, the other two would be there to egg them on. Gaara with kind, soft words, Sakura with fists and threats, and Kiba with his unending sense of humor.

Five weeks after they started their brutal training regime, the four of them showed up to their usual starting point on the wall feeling refreshed after a whole day where they weren't being run ragged. Gaara had mastered the Mystical Palm Technique and brought a fish back to life that week - apparently the fastest anybody has learned it since Senju Tsunade herself. On Saturday he'd healed a nasty cut on Kiba's arm under Kurenai's watchful eye.

Today, however, Kurenai wasn't waiting for them alone. Standing with their sensei was Rooster, much to Sakura and Kiba's horror.

"Kurenai-sensei, Rooster-sensei, good morning," Sakura said a little nervously. Rooster inclined his head and Kurenai smiled at her, though it was a little strained.

"You four have done very well in your training. This week we're going to do something a little different. Rooster-san will be taking you on a survival exercise. The Hokage will be counting this as a C-rank mission." They looked at each other nervously. Because their situation was a little different than most genin, they'd been receiving a small stipend - equal to what most genin made while taking on the usual five to ten D-ranks a week, along with their official records stating that they had completed said D-ranks.

Kurenai had explained that the Hokage didn't want anybody to realize how much extra training they were receiving and drawing undue attention to themselves. If the intense schedule they'd been living was D-rank pay, than what in the world would a C-rank involve?

Their thoughts were cut off when Rooster threw them each a heavy pack, and motioned for them to follow him. After exchanging looks and sending a sympathetic-looking Kurenai a wave goodbye, they put on their packs and followed the black-clad nin. They were hard pressed to keep up with him, even with all of the extra running they'd been doing lately.

Finally, after twenty minutes, they came to a stop outside of a tall, ominous looking fence with a sign warning people to keep out without prior permission. "This is Training Ground 44," Rooster said gruffly. "It's the largest training ground in the village. This is where we will do our exercise. First, though, Sakura, give me your bokken. You're to complete the exercise without it."

She stiffened, but knew better than to argue, and unstrapped it from where it always sat on her back before handing it over. He had unlocked the gate, and motioned for them to go through.

Sakura looked over at Gaara with wide eyes. We're going to die!

Gaara pursued his lips. Perhaps, but if so there's no point in dwelling on it.

She looked at the dark, twisted trees on the other side of the fence with trepidation, ignoring the shifting in Rooster's posture that she knew meant he was getting impatient. Finally, Kiba sighed, and strode forward, passing through the gate and turning to look at them with challenge written all over his face. Akamaru gave a small, encouraging bark, and with a sigh both of the Harunos entered the training grounds.

Rooster led them into the trees at a run, the three of them again struggling to keep up. He didn't go in a straight line, instead meandering this way and that without any apparent destination in mind. Finally, they came to a stop in a small clearing, and he turned to them. "To survive the next few days, you will need to learn the following skill quickly," he said in his usual blunt manner, and the three genin exchanged nervous looks as Rooster walked to a tree, and then kept walking up the side of it.

"This is called tree walking," he said to the three gaping genin from where he was crouched upside down on a branch. "You accomplish this by feeding a steady stream of chakra into your feet. You have three hours to learn this."

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves, and the three genin stared at where he had been standing, before scrambling out of their packs and racing up to a tree. Kiba immediately tried to run up the side, and they winced as he was blown off of it, landing with an ooph of air on his back several feet away. Gaara immediately ran to his side, scowl firmly in place as he scolded the sheepish boy.

"You used too much chakra, I think," Gaara explained once it was obvious Kiba was fine. "Try using less."

Sakura bit her lip and stared at the tree in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she made a hand sign to help her focus, and pushed a small amount of chakra into her feet. Tentatively, she put one foot on the tree in front of her, slowly increasing the amount of chakra flow until she was confident that her hold was solid.

She then put her other foot on the trunk, and carefully began to walk up the trunk, not stopping until she was on a branch high up in the air. She looked over to Gaara's tree and saw he had also figured out the exercise already. She smiled smugly - ha! Like we needed three hours, she thought to herself.

Then she looked at Kiba, who was scowling up at them from the ground, rubbing at his lower back. With a sigh, she walked back down the trunk to help her teammate.

Two hours later, Kiba was finally getting it down after judicious help from Gaara and Sakura. They'd taken turns helping him and going through their packs to figure out exactly what they had.

"How are we supposed to survive for any amount of time on these supplies?" Sakura finally said with a scowl as she packed them back up. One pack had been entirely made up of extra kunai, explosive tags, and wire. The other had two blankets, three empty water bottles, and some ration bars. The third was entirely made up of medical supplies, much to Gaara's joy. Sakura felt a twinge of guilt when she realized Kiba had been carrying the much heavier pack with weapons in it, and when she repacked the supplies she made sure to spread the weight more evenly.

They were practicing tree walking with the packs on their backs when Rooster returned. "You are to stay in the trees for the next two days. If you touch the ground, I will take one of your packs as punishment." Sakura was suddenly very glad she had separated their supplies more evenly across packs, so each held equipment, medical supplies, and weapons. Losing one wouldn't be quite as devastating now.

"I am an enemy nin, and you are evading me in enemy territory. You have ten minutes before I follow." They glanced at eachother, and dashed up the nearest tree, stopping to take stock of their situation for a moment before exchanging a look.

"We'll need to jump between branches," Sakura whispered, and both boys nodded uneasily. "I'll go first, since I have better chakra control than Kiba. That way, I can try to catch you if you miss," she whispered.

Gaara frowned, but before he could protest Sakura gave him a look. "You're the medic-nin - we'll need you to heal us if something goes wrong, so you should take the least amount of chances."

Before he could argue, she turned to scan the trees around them, and chose a branch that was about ten feet away and big enough to allow for some error on her first try. Narrowing her eyes, she fed just enough chakra into her jump to hopefully make the distance without overshooting. Her feet hit the trunk and started to skid. For a moment her stomach lurched and her arms pinwheeled, but then she was automatically pushing chakra into her feet and sticking them to the bark below them.

Grinning, she turned to her team, who were both sporting relieved smiles. Gaara went next, and was so close to undershooting his jump that half his feet were hanging off into the air, though he kept them from slipping the rest of the way with the application of chakra.

Kiba easily made the leap, and landed in a crouch next to them with a smirk. Sakura was pretty sure he hadn't even needed chakra at all, and was impressed and a little jealous. "Okay, we should probably get a move on," Kiba said, and Akamaru barked his agreement from his spot on Kiba's head. "Rooster-sensei isn't one for holding back."

Sakura snorted at that understatement, and after a few awkward starts, they were soon sailing through the trees. Rooster caught up to them in eleven minutes, and within three had beaten them all thoroughly, though somehow they managed to keep themselves in the canopy - Kiba more by accident, as he'd gotten wedged between two branches at an awkward angle.

"You need to suppress your chakra," Rooster growled as Gaara carefully healed a scratch on Sakura's arm from a kunai the ANBU member had thrown her way, and almost seemed to slump at their blank faces. With a sigh, he made a hand sign that they all copied, and spent half an hour teaching them how to pull their chakra into themselves until it was compressed into a tight ball in their centers.

"Gaara, excellent. Sakura, you're close. Kiba, average. You have half an hour before I come for you," Rooster grunted out, and then was gone.

The next two days were torture. Rooster would pop out at them at random times, peppering them with fireballs and kunai, and after trouncing them he would give them gruff, fast instructions that were always very useful - if they could pick them up quickly.

Sakura was knocked out of a tree and lost her her pack twelve hours into the exercise, much to their dismay. She hadn't had time to feel guilty, though, as Rooster had then pulled them into a lesson about how to use ninja wire tied to kunai as a way to redirect your momentum and hopefully recover from a fall.

At the end of the two days they were exhausted, hungry, thirsty, and in desperate need of a shower. Sakura's dress was singed at the bottom from where she hadn't dodged a fireball quickly enough, and Gaara had a tear up one pant leg from hem to knee. Kiba's jacket had holes and bloodstains on it, and poor Akamaru no longer had a pristine white coat. In other words, they were all ready to go home.

Rooster stared them all down from behind his mask. "You've learned a lot these past two days," he began, and they couldn't help but glow a little at the almost-compliment. "It will make the next stage easier on you," he continued, and they all stilled.

"Next...stage?" Sakura squeaked, and he hummed.

"That's right - survival in a hostile area. I'll return for you in ten days. Don't die." Once again they were left staring at the spot where their sensei had been standing, shocked into silence.

It was only a few hours later that they discovered what their sensei had meant by hostile territory. They'd decided to take a much needed sleeping break in the trees before coming up with a game plan - Rooster hadn't allowed them more than half an hour of rest at a time for the past two days.

All three fell asleep feeling surly and dejected, because ten days was a long time with the supplies they had on hand. They'd managed to keep the other two packs, but they'd still lost a third of their medical supplies and food and one of their two blankets. They were woken two hours later by a swarm of large flying centipedes. It just went downhill from there.

000

Ino ran a thumb over the jagged end of a fingernail, knowing that her brow was furrowed in annoyance as her team took a seat on the patio of the BBQ place they almost always ate lunch at. Shikamaru was ignoring her after she'd treated her team to a particularly acerbic rant about his lazy habits, Chouji's eating habits, and Asuma's disgusting smoking habits. Seriously, why did she have to get stuck with this team. And why did they have to keep taking these dirty, ridiculous missions?

She huffed and held up the hand with the nail she'd broken weeding the garden, wondering if her father would pay for another manicure that week. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shikamaru roll his eyes at her from where he was slumped, and immediately turned to him.

"You have something you want to say?" she gritted out, and he sighed.

"Troublesome. No," he grumbled, and she sniffed.

"That's what I -" she frowned as his attention was pulled to something on the other side of her. His expression sharpened from annoyed boredom to interest, and he straightened just a bit. Ino whipped around, having been around enough Naras in her lifetime, and this one in particular, to know that he'd just seen something interesting.

Ino gasped quietly, and knew her jaw had dropped open when she saw what had drawn his attention. Walking down the mostly-deserted street - well, half-limping, half-stomping, was Team Eight. Ino hadn't seen them in weeks, but had assumed it was just a matter of missing each other at the missions office. Now, however, she wondered if it was something else as they drew up next to the BBQ place and paused about five feet away.

Ino could only gape at their roughshod appearance. They looked like they had literally been through hell. Kiba's usual coat was gone, leaving him in only his mesh short-sleeved undershirt and what had probably been tan pants. They were now so torn and dirty that she couldn't be sure of their original color. His face and exposed arms had fared no better in the cleanliness department, and were also covered in scratches and dried blood, bandages and what looked like red cloth tied around various parts.

Gaara stood next to him, still wearing his usual red tunic, though it was also so dirty and ripped it barely resembled the original cloth and style. He looked a little less beat up than Kiba, though his face was even paler than usual and his red hair was matted against his skull. In his arms was a limp and dirty Akamaru, who whined a little but didn't move when Gaara ran a hand over his dirty fur.

It was Sakura, however, that really had her doing the double take. Despite her limp, she was standing with the sort of confidence that Ino had never associated with her friend before. The girl really didn't have much to be confident about at the moment, if her beat up appearance was any indication. She was wearing her green shorts, as usual, though they were in no better shape than Kiba's pants. Her lower legs were covered in scratches, and there was a dirty bandage wrapped around one calf. The other had more of the red fabric wrapped just under her knee.

Where the fabric came from was clear, as Sakura was in nothing but a black sports bra up top. Her stomach was covered in streaks of mud and what looked like dried blood, and her arms were sporting bandages and more who-knows-what as well. Her face had streaks of dirt across it, and her hair...

Ino bit her lip, because if there was one thing Sakura loved about herself, it was her hair. Right now it was just as matted and dirty as her brother's, the usually lovely, healthy pink color was now dulled by dirt, and it was pulled back into a scraggly ponytail. Usually the tail would reach all the way down to swing at her lower back, but now it ended just at shoulder length. The ends were ragged and brown, and it looked like it had been burned off.

Despite all of that, Sakura stood completely unashamed in the middle of the street, arms crossed over her torso, tapping her foot and glaring. She looked like she hadn't had a good meal in weeks, though...were those muscles beneath all of that grime?

"Where is that overgrown peacock!" Sakura growled, making Ino jump. "You sure you smelled him here, Kiba?" She asked, turning her head to look at her teammate. Ino expected him to get worked up at the perceived insult to his skills, but he surprised her when he just shrugged tiredly.

"Yeah, he's around here somewhere. Just being a sneaky bastard, as always."

A woosh of air, and then an ANBU with a red mask with avian features painted onto it appeared in the street in front of Team Eight. Next to her, Asuma stiffened.

"What -" her sensei started to say, but was cut off.

"Rooster-sensei!" Sakura yelled, and stomped up to the black-clad, silent figure. "You said you'd be back for us in ten days. Ten days! Do you have any idea how long we were out there for?" she shrieked, and Ino almost relaxed at the more familiar side of Sakura, except she was yelling at an ANBU member. Sakura was going to die, right in front of her. She didn't wait for the masked man to answer, instead rolling right over him. "It's been fifteen days! Fifteen! I'm pretty sure they teach you how to read calendars in ANBU!"

"Has it really?" the man said mildly, seeming completely unperturbed by the yelling, dirty girl causing a scene in the street. "So it has. Well, look at that, you survived. Good job."

Sakura's mouth worked for a moment, and Ino winced, knowing an eruption was imminent. "Good - good job? You are," she said through clenched teeth, "A monster! Do you have any idea what roasted centipede tastes like? No? Well, it's disgusting! You - you!"

Kiba and Gaara both stepped forward and put their hands on her shoulders, and she visibly deflated. "Team Eight reporting in, Rooster-sensei," she mumbled grudgingly, and though he didn't move Ino got the feeling that the man was laughing at them.

"Good. See a doctor, eat, and sleep. We'll talk to tomorrow." Before he could leave, however, Sakura cleared her throat and held out her hand expectantly. Rooster just stood there, staring at her, head cocked to the side, and after a moment Sakura sighed explosively and stomped her foot.

"My bokken! I want it back. We completed your stupid survival training." she snapped. A moment later a long bokken appeared in the ANBU's hand, and she snatched it from him, immediately strapping it to her back by the harness attached to it, apparently unconcerned with the bruises and cuts it undoubtedly rubbed against.

This time, Rooster really did disappear, and all three of Team Eight seemed to sag a little. "Ugh, he's the worst," Sakura mumbled, and both of her teammates nodded. "I suppose we should go to the hospital..." she trailed off, and it was obvious that it was the last place she wanted to go.

"Or we could go to my family's clinic. Then they can treat Akamaru at the same time," Kiba offered, and Gaara immediately perked up.

"Really? I'd heard only Inuzuka were allowed there," he said a little eagerly, and Kiba grinned at him, then reached out and ruffled his hair, ignoring the boy's pout at the action.

"Nah, you're my teammates, so you're an exception. I think Hana should be working, too, long as she isn't on a mission. It is Wednesday, right?" he asked, and all three of them looked a little unsure.

"It is," Shikamaru drawled from next to Ino, causing them all to jump about a foot in the air and spin around to face them. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at their defensive postures, and after a moment Sakura straightened sheepishly. Kiba and Gaara only relaxed once she had, and from Shikamaru's calculating expression, he noticed it too.

"Oh, hi guys. That's good. That it's Wednesday I mean," Kiba said.

"What happened to you?" Asuma finally asked, looking honestly concerned.

Sakura's gaze flickered over them almost dismissively before offering a small shrug. "Survival training. Well, we better getting going - we need to get to a doctor. See you later, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ino, Asuma-sensei."

They turned and started to walk down the street, Sakura accepting Kiba's whispered offer of support, letting him put her arm over his shoulders to take weight off of the leg she was obviously favoring. He leaned down and said something in a low voice next to her ear, and Ino waited for the fireworks. No way Sakura wouldn't punch him into next week for being so familiar.

Instead, she tilted her head towards him, and Ino heard bright laughter before Sakura gave him a light tap on the back of the head, and he snickered. Gaara was shaking his head at both of them, and Ino could only watch, broken nail completely forgotten, as she tried to figure out what exactly had happened in the past two months to change her insecure, slightly vain ex-best friend into somebody who held her head high while covered in blood and grime, and wore a sword strapped to her back.

-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

**Next chapter: Team Eight gets their first real C-Rank mission! **


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura furrowed her brow, moving carefully through the hand signs Kurenai had shown her and yelling "Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!" She sighed when she ended up buried only to her hips. Next to her, Gaara had just popped out of the ground beside her, having gotten it down on his fourth try, to Kurenai's joy.

Kiba had only gotten a rumble out of the earth beneath his feet, and though he had glared a bit, didn't say anything, instead taking a deep breath and trying again. He didn't even bother being upset when Sakura and Gaara picked up skills involving chakra control faster than he did anymore. Especially since Kiba was almost always ahead of them in any of the physical aspects of their training. Sakura was relieved he hadn't decided to pick up kenjutsu just to outperform her there, as well.

Sakura wriggled out of the ground, and checked her chakra levels. She probably had another three tries in her before she would need to stop. She wouldn't be out of chakra at that point, but she still had most of the day in front of her and knew better than to go into it severely depleted.

"Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique!" This time she fed a tiny bit more chakra into the jutsu, and a moment later found herself completely underground. She would have cheered, but didn't want to end up with a mouthful of dirt. Instead, she followed the instructions Kurenai had given them, and closed her eyes, concentrating on the natural earth chakra she could feel around her. After a moment, she identified two people standing about four feet away - Gaara and Kiba - and one about ten feet to her right - Kurenai.

Sakura burst out of the ground with a little more force than she had planned, causing Gaara to jolt a bit in surprise. "Well done, Sakura!" Kurenai said, and she grinned at her sensei at the praise. "Do it one more time, and then why don't you take a break and run a few laps around the field before lunch?" Sakura sighed, but didn't comment out loud about how most people don't consider running a break.

Two days ago Kurenai had shown up to practice with three squares of chakra paper and explained elemental chakra natures to them. Apparently she wanted to teach them a few C-Rank Elemental Jutsu that week. When they had fed chakra into their paper, Kurenai had stared at the results, bemused.

"Huh," their sensei said. "Three earth natures, and Gaara with a secondary in wind. That's...unexpected, though I suppose it shouldn't have been, considering your families. Though usually it's secondary for Inuzuka...their primary tends to be fire...well, we'll just have to have Sakura and Kiba train in a second nature, as well," Kurenai had said decisively.

Kurenai was now working with Gaara on Wind Release: Gale Palm, since he had gotten Hiding Like a Mole perfected already. The day before they'd spent six hours attempting to loosen dirt by feeding chakra into the ground. Sakura had gotten it on hour four, Gaara on hour five. Kiba hadn't quite managed it until halfway through the day. Nobody on their team would be a ninjutsu specialist, apparently, but it was good to have some jutsu in their repertoire.

After lunch, they were all feeling refreshed, and it was with a spring in her step that Sakura followed Kurenai to the training ground. She stopped short and barely held back from groaning out loud when she saw Rooster standing in the field, obviously waiting for them. "I didn't know it was a Rooster-sensei day," she said lightly, and Kurenai gave her a look that said she knew exactly what Sakura was thinking.

"Today we're going to be training in dodging attacks using only the Replacement Jutsu and Shushin," Rooster intoned without bothering with greetings. Sakura eyed the logs that had been strewn across the clearing, and shifted uncomfortably.

"Dodging what, exactly?" Kiba asked, missing the way Gaara was shaking his head frantically. His question was answered in the form of three medium sized fireballs heading their way. Sakura's eyes widened, and she rolled out of the way, then yelped as she was hit with the stinging slap of what she knew was the flat of Rooster's blade on her back. It was a familiar sensation, and a moment later she heard two more thwaps and the exclamations of Kiba and her brother from a few feet away.

"I'm sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. Dodge only using the Replacement Jutsu and Shushin." Rooster said in a bored tone. Sakura sent a desperate look to Kurenai, who was wearing a blank expression that Sakura knew meant they'd be getting no help from her. And then Sakura had no time to think at all as a kunai whipped towards her. She inhaled and quickly moved through the signs to perform a clumsy but effective shunshin. She really, really hated Rooster-sensei.

000

"I have a C-ranked mission for you today," the Hokage said, and chuckled when all three of the genin went wide-eyed and stiff. "An official C-rank mission."

He shuffled through the papers in front of him. "Here we are. You're to escort and guard a merchant on the way to a medium village on the outskirts of Wind Country. You'll stay with her until her business is concluded there. She'll be bidding for a long-term trade contract with Wind Country for her family business. Competition for these things can get messy, so you need to be on the lookout."

The Hokage leaned back in his chair and studied them. "This," he said, "is the official mission. The secondary part of it will be your first attempt at sabotage."

The three of them exchanged looks, and Sakura was forced to swallow down her nerves. Wasn't it too early? As though reading their minds, the Sandaime chuckled. "No, no, it's nothing like that. This is fairly danger-free, though there is the chance of political repercussions if you're caught," he said sternly. "Of course, that is always the case with such missions."

He put the tips of his fingers against each other and studied them. "I believe, however, that you will do just fine. Tell me, what do you know of the recent history of Wind Country?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "Well, economically they've taken a hit, due to the near destruction of their shinobi village by an out of control jinchuuriki four years ago," she said. When the hokage nodded, she continued. "They lost their kage and many of their high level shinobi that day, along with their biju. The Wind daimyo has been forced to look outside of the shinobi village for many of its missions - actually, I'm guessing this is one of those jobs that would have gone to a Sand shinobi originally if they still had the capacity for it." The Hokage nodded and gave her a smile, then glanced at Gaara.

"Tell me about their economics right now. What's the exact situation?" he said. Gaara shifted once, uncomfortable with the attention, but answered.

"Because the people are poor due to the loss of one of their economic pillars, many merchants took their wares out of Wind the last few years, as nobody could buy at the standard rates. They could make more money elsewhere. However, Fire Country and two smaller countries that are close to sand, Hot Water and Grass, have been aiding in rebuilding both Suna and Wind Country's economic basis as a whole. The problem now is that there isn't anywhere to spend their money."

Gaara looked unsure for a moment, and the Sandaime gave him a gentle smile. "That's correct. Let me add a few things that aren't taught openly to your knowledge. I hope I don't need to tell you, but the things I say in here, this knowledge, is not to be shared outside of this office. You'll need to know things that are very classified for your work, so get used to it now."

The three of them all nodded and murmured polite confirmations. Sakura was both excited about learning something new that was kept from the general population, and feeling sick with nerves. For the first time, she felt the reality of their team's specialization, and it made her apprehensive.

"Fire Country has given Wind Country a large loan, earmarked with the express purpose of using it to give substantial bonuses to merchants who are willing to sign trade contracts with the Wind daimyo. We have not been idle throughout the past four years, either. We sent some of our jounin to them to train their forces and replenish their higher-level shinobi. We've also helped in the rebuilding efforts of Suna more than most people are aware, and in the clearing out of bandits that had taken over main travel routes. They can now guarantee semi-safe travel within Wind Country borders, which was not the case up until six months or so ago."

"But why?" Kiba blurted, and Sakura cringed a little at his lack of decorum, putting an unsubtle elbow into his side. "Eh he," he said, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, Hokage-sama, why are we helping a rival country so much? Isn't it good that we're getting all of their missions? And that they're too weak to try for another war?"

The Hokage smiled kindly at him. "All good questions, and it is true that there are those that would have had us take the route of inaction. Tell, me, though. What do you get when you have a fallen ally on your borders? One that once held a large swathe of land that, despite its appearance, holds many resources?"

"You get a weak point," Gaara said slowly. "A spot of vulnerability to those who aren't your allies."

"Yes," Kurenai spoke up for the first time. "There is also the fact that desperate people could lash out - and Sand shinobi are not weaklings, even if they are weakened. In reality, Konoha only had one of two choices if we didn't want a larger country whom we have shaky relations with moving in and trying to claim Wind Country for their own. Either we conquer Wind Country ourselves and hold it, effectively doubling our workload, or we help the people we want to be in power hold it."

"That is correct. Well spoken, Team Eight," The Hokage said in approval. "So you see why Fire Country has put so much effort into the rebuilding of Suna and Wind Country's economy. Now, on to why you're here." His face went grave, and he leaned forward. "For some of the remaining elders of Sand, our aid has chafed. To get them to agree to the loan, our daimyo guaranteed Wind full autonomy over which merchants they choose to contract with." The hokage picked up a file and handed it to Kurenai.

"Our agents have picked up rumors that some of the merchants that will be bidding are actually part of a large civilian criminal organization. To allow them a foothold in Wind Country, when they are just now recovering, would be a grave error. Your secondary mission is to make sure that these merchants do not get chosen as one of the contracting groups. It must be subtle - if it is discovered that Konoha meddled when we were supposed to stay out of it, there will be a lot of angry Sand Shinobi banging on my door," he said ruefully.

000

The woman they were escorting to the village of Miyati was kind and soft spoken. Her hair was greying at the temples, but her dark skin was mostly wrinkle free. She sold cloth and wool from sheep that her family raised in their village. Sakura had ended up walking next to her almost the whole way, talking about the Land of Lightning, where she was from. Sakura hadn't realized how much the people there were different from her own home, culturally speaking. Not to mention the completely different survival techniques needed to live comfortably in the mountainous region.

"Ayate-san, it's time to get up," Sakura said softly to the woman. She, Kurenai, and Iko Ayate were sharing a room at the village, with Kiba and Gaara sharing the other. Sakura would never say it to Kiba or Akamaru, but she was relieved not to have to share with them, since they'd been caught out in the rain yesterday. Akamaru was intelligent and loveable, yes, but he was still a canine that got a horrible wet dog smell when he was damp.

They got ready, Sakura pulling on her black shorts and long sleeved red shirt that she'd bought at a clothing store tailored specifically for ninja. It wouldn't fall apart like her last outfit did, leaving her walking around in front of Ino and her team in her sports bra. In retrospect, it was embarrassing, though at the time she'd been too tired for anything but annoyance.

She pulled her hair - which now fell down to brush her shoulders, thanks to Rooster-san's enthusiastic throwing of fireballs in the Forest of Death - into a tight bun, having learned her lesson about leaving it loose. It would take forever to grow back out, now. She tied on her headband as she thumped down the stairs behind Kurenai, and smiled at her brother and Kiba, who were standing outside the door looking alert and excited.

They made their way through the village to where the merchants who were interested in the offered contracts were setting up with their wares in a large community center. Sakura could see the signs of hard times around her in the too-gaunt faces of the people and their threadbare clothes. Many of the storefronts were boarded up, and children who would have been in school in Fire Country were running around unattended.

They entered the large community center, which had obviously received some attention recently, as it smelled of fresh paint and was gleaming. It was also bustling with multiple merchants from across the nations, busy setting up on the provided tables. Kurenai had them switch off keeping an eye out for trouble with her and helping Ayate unload her wares. The cloth was well-made and died in beautiful hues of blues, reds, greens, and browns, and immediately garnered interest from the people around them.

They finished by lunch, and Kiba and Akamaru went with Ayate to get food while Kurenai went to take a look around, and Sakura and Gaara watched the table. Other merchants were wandering around, looking closely at the competition, and they received some sharp looks when the quality of Ayate's wares became apparent.

That evening, Gaara, Akamaru and Kiba stayed to guard their booth while Kurenai and Sakura went back to the hotel with Ayate. When the woman went to shower, Kurenai pulled Sakura out into the hallway.

"I found the merchants Hokage-sama told us about," she whispered. "One fruit and vegetable stand in the eastern corner from Hot Water, a ceramics and earthenware merchant from Wave two rows over, and a furniture merchant from River Country along the west wall. I want you to go early tomorrow and come up with a plan with the boys. I'll escort Ayate-san on my own."

Sakura headed to the community center the next morning with breakfast buns, weaving her way through the early-morning crowd until she got to her team. Gaara was wearing his grumpy morning face, and Sakura smiled at how adorable it looked in conjunction with his messy hair. If Kiba's grin was any indication, he agreed. The boys perked up at the sight of food, and they sat down behind the booth where they would be hidden by the piles of cloth, putting Akamaru up on the table to keep an eye out for would-be eavesdroppers or saboteurs.

"This mornin' one a' the jewelry merchants woke up and all their metals were melted together," Kiba said in a low voice. "But nobody tried to mess with us - probably 'cause we were here. Kinda stupid to do something you obviously need a shinobi for, since only a few merchants hired some. Some official already questioned us," he said with an eyeroll. "And kicked out one a' the other merchants when they figured out it was their guards that did it."

Sakura hummed in thought, frowning. How were they going to watch Ayate's booth and sabotage three other merchants without giving away that it was done by trained ninja? In a low voice she told them what Kurenai had discovered the day before.

"I think we need to do this in a way that looks like the issues are natural, or due to low quality," she whispered finally.

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Kiba asked as he snuck Akamaru half a meat-filled bun.

"Advanced cellular regeneration," Gaara said suddenly, and Kiba blinked at him.

"Uh, throwing out nonsense words isn't going to help, Gaara," he said.

Sakura stared at her brother for a moment until it clicked. "Oh! Do you think you'd be able to do it with enough of the produce to make it obvious?"

"Yes, it shouldn't be difficult," he said, and Sakura grinned at him.

"Brilliant as usual, brother mine," she said and he rolled his eyes.

"Still have no idea what you're talking about over here," Kiba said in a grumpy voice, and Sakura sent him an apologetic look.

"Gaara can use his mystical palm technique to force the fruit and vegetables to ripen faster than they usually would," she whispered, and Kiba's face cleared.

"Rotten vegetables should turn the daimyo's representatives off their stuff, eh?" he said, delighted. "And it'll just seem like they've got bad food. Nice," Kiba sent a wide smile Gaara's way, and he blushed and looked to the side.

"So what about the earthenware, then?" Sakura frowned in thought, then brightened as a thought hit her. "Well, it's made of clay, right?" When they both nodded, she held up a hand and wiggled her fingers. "We just spent three days learning how to manipulate earth chakra."

Gaara hummed and tilted his head to the side. "So, we can create imperfections in the pots using earth release, but it will seem as though the craftsmanship is just shoddy."

"Bugs!" Kiba said loudly, making the Haruno siblings both jump and then shush him. He lowered his voice, but he was bouncing in excitement. "Last year my cousin, who's a total slob, had to get rid of all his furniture 'cause it was infested with bugs."

"Gross," Sakura said, and Gaara wrinkled his nose. Kiba just waved their reactions off, annoyed that they weren't getting the point.

"Remember those nests of sand beetles we passed 'bout half an hour before we got here? Maybe me 'n Akamaru will go out for a run this evening," he said meaningfully.

Sakura stared at him in horror. "That," she said, "is disgusting. And brilliant." They spent some time beaming at each other.

That afternoon Sakura and Gaara went to buy some vegetables to go with the sandwiches they were having for lunch. Sakura took a deep breath before hiding a hand sign by angling her body away from the guards, weaving a simple genjutsu that made them continue to see an innocent looking Gaara casually picking fruit. The rest of the crowd couldn't see his glowing green hands as they ran over the produce, since he was facing away from them. Then, Sakura paid for their vegetables and they went back to the stand, exchanging looks.

That was terrifying, Sakura's said.

I cannot believe that worked, Gaara's replied.

Neither of them could stomach eating due to nerves. Sakura couldn't help but imagine the Sandaime's disappointed face if they got caught. Later that day, she went to the earthenware merchant, who had hired sharp-eyed mercenaries to watch over their pots and cutlery. Sakura examined the wares, chattering on about needing to buy a present for her mother's birthday to the reedy man working the booth.

In the end, she left with an overpriced serving bowl that her mother would definitely love, and left behind product that was sure to disappoint the contingent from Wind Country's capital that were arriving the next day. All she'd had to do was feed a bit of chakra into her hands as she handled the product, putting weaknesses and imperfections into what had initially been high quality earthenware and ceramics.

That night Sakura stayed with Kiba in the community center and Gaara went to the hotel with Kurenai and Ayate, and she carefully laid a genjutsu over the center. Kurenai had taught it to her, and it was designed to make already-sleeping people stay asleep. Kiba had gone out that evening for a run, and come back with a jar of the disgusting beetles, which were the color of sand and had large pinchers.

By the time he returned from dumping them all over the furniture, Sakura was sweating from maintaining the illusion over such a large area. She released it with a sigh of relief when he lay down.

"You okay?" he whispered as she sat up and reached for a water bottle.

"Ah, just used a lot of chakra for that," she muttered.

"Alright. I'll take most of the watch, you get some sleep," he said, voice concerned. Too tired to argue, she just nodded, and fell asleep almost immediately.

She awoke to the sound of Akamaru's furious barking, and she was on her feet with a kunai in her hand before she was fully conscious. Their time in the forbidden forest had taught her not to ignore a wake-up call from Akamaru. Kiba was crouched on the back of a large man, blue chakra creating a glow around his now-feral features. He had apparently activated his Beast Human Clone technique to take the man down quickly. His claws were at the man's throat, who was holding very, very still.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at what looked like a spray bottle in the man's hand, and met Kiba's eyes before nodding her chin to the rest of the room, which was now full of half asleep, annoyed-to-be-awake guards, letting him know she'd watch his back while he dealt with guy. Now that Sakura was awake, Akamaru sat down, looking a little smug at the capture of somebody who was obviously up to no good.

"What's that you got in that bottle, huh?" Kiba said cheerfully as Sakura turned and scanned the crowd, who were watching the events unfold with interest. "Smells pretty awful. You weren't planning on spraying that on our client's cloth, where you?"

"I - what? No! I was just..." his voice trailed off as he tried to come up with a reason for sneaking around the booth of one of his competitors in the middle of the night with a spray bottle of foul smelling liquid.

"Uh huh," Kiba said. "Akamaru, go get Kurenai-sensei. Me n' Sakura got this for now."

Sakura struggled not to yawn, still feeling the effects of creating and holding such a large genjutsu, but also overcome with pride for her team. They'd protected Ayate's wares and sabotaged three merchants that day, so far without reprisal or drama. Maybe they would be able to succeed at the job the hokage had given them without dying horribly at a young age, after all.

Ayate, Gaara and Kurenai showed up a few minutes later, only Kurenai looking unruffled from interrupted sleep. She raised an eyebrow at Sakura in question, who just nodded. Mission successful. Her sensei smiled, radiating pride for just a moment, before going stern and turning to the man who had attempted to make all of Ayate's cloth smell so terrible that nobody would want to buy it.

That day there were the sounds of screams when somebody tried to test out a chair at the furniture merchant's booth and was immediately besieged by angry biting beetles. The smell of rotting produce had also permeated one corner of the center, and the sound of a ceramic bowl shattering when somebody picked it up could be clearly heard over the lunchtime rush. Team Eight very carefully kept all traces of smugness from their expressions.

In the end, Ayate was offered a contract, and she had smiled and thanked them profusely before presenting them each with a beautifully woven scarf. Sakura's was a deep red color that was soft against her skin. Kurenai's was a stark white, Gaara's a deep green, and Kiba's a bright blue. It was a good day.

000

Naruto's first mission had not been as positive an experience as Sakura's and Gaara's. They sat cross legged on his apartment floor, Sakura wrinkling her nose at the mess around them but gamely suffering through it. Her brother had noticed that Naruto seemed uncharacteristically subdued when they saw him in front of the Hokage tower early that day, so here they were, having brought ramen from Ichiraku's in an attempt to cheer him up.

Sakura's jaw had dropped as Naruto told them about their mission, enthusiastic in parts and sad in others.

"So...they died?" Sakura asked in a soft voice when he told them about the missing nin he'd befriended and then been pitted against, and Naruto nodded. Most people probably wouldn't be that upset if someone they'd only met once had been killed, but Naruto had always held his connections close to his heart.

"I just...we're more than just tools, aren't we?" he asked Gaara in a pleading voice.

"We are," her brother agreed. "Shinobi are people first," he said thoughtfully. "If your friend was just a mere tool, he would not have felt so strongly for his master, after all. He would not have the emotional capacity to conceptualize what a precious person would even be."

Naruto blinked a little at that, obviously breaking apart what Gaara had said, before nodding once and smiling brightly. "You're right! You and Sakura are two of my precious people, you know," he said, and Sakura had to hold back a grin when Gaara blushed. Really, his crush was just cute, even if the person he was crushing on was extremely annoying.

Case in point: "So, Sakura, now that I've proven I'm an amazing and talented ninja, do you want to go on a -"

His downstairs neighbors' dinner was interrupted as an orange, wailing streak fell past their kitchen window, causing them to pause midbite in consternation.

The next day Kiba looked between the two twins, mouth opening and closing a few times before he wisely decided to say nothing at all. He'd always wondered what a fight between the siblings would look like. He should have figured it would consist of meaningful looks and angry silence.

Sakura was practicing moving around underground as the next step of the Hidden Mole technique, and Kiba was attempting to include Akamaru in the jutsu. If he could hide both of them underground, that would give them a major edge.

Kurenai had been intrigued by the idea, and had spent the morning going through the theory on it. Since he and Akamaru had identical chakra - one of the side effects of their partnership - it was possible.

They separated at lunch, Gaara to go to the hospital, Sakura for her torture session with Rooster, and Kiba to work with his mom on their clan techniques. When they met back up for their evening run around the village and the siblings still weren't talking, he decided he'd had enough.

"What the hell crawled up your asses?" he hissed, and was immediately pierced with two identical glares. He just huffed and crossed his arms. "Don't give me that. It's not fair to make Akamaru and I suffer because you two are being pissy. What could have happened in the one day we had off?"

Sakura broke first, surprisingly. "Apparently I'm supposed to allow Gaara's friends to slobber all over me in an attempt to keep them from 'feeling sad,'" she hissed, and Kiba blinked. Gaara had friends? The only one he knew of outside of himself and Sakura was - oh, okay, that made sense.

"I do not, but a simple 'no' would suffice. You hardly needed to throw him out of a three story window!" Gaara replied, voice heated. A three story window? Damn, that was cold.

"I've said no! I've said it in about fifty different ways. But you take his side every time, because you -" Sakura cut herself off and glanced at Kiba furtively, and Gaara blushed.

They both went silent as they stood from their stretches, and Kiba thought about what they'd said as they took off into a light jog for their first lap. A smart man would probably stay out of this argument but, well, he left the heavy thinking to his teammates. He was an action-oriented guy.

"Seems to me, if someone doesn't listen to 'no' the first time, Sakura has every right to toss him out the window. Somebody disrespected my sister like that, I'd help her hide the body." He'd been raised by two independent women, after all, and had a different perspective than some male shinobi. It bothered him when people treated his mother or sister like something they had a right to, just because they found them attractive. Of course, they only made that mistake once before Hana and Tsume straightened them out - aggressively.

Gaara sent him a betrayed look, and Kiba shrugged, unmoved. "I know Naruto doesn't mean any harm by it, but if it makes Sakura uncomfortable, than he should stop. You want me to talk to him, Sakura?" he said casually, and to his surprise, she stopped running, staring at him in surprise.

"I - you'd do that for me?" she asked, voice bewildered. "I mean, no, I - I can handle it. I just. Thank you, for offering." Kiba rubbed the back of his neck, then shrugged.

"No problem. My mom would kick my ass if I harassed a girl after she turned me down. Though, Naruto never had anybody to teach him why it's not okay. He'd probably stop if somebody explained it to him." Gaara blinked at him, then looked at his sister.

"I - never thought of it that way," Gaara finally said, and Sakura crossed her arms and looked away.

"No, you just thought I was being mean because he's annoying."

Gaara looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry. You're right, I should have sided with you."

Sakura bit her lip and glanced at Gaara, then stepped forward and hugged him when she saw his miserable expression. "It's fine, I know you're protective of him because of how everybody treats him. And I am kind of mean to him sometimes for no reason."

Gaara returned her hug. "Still, I should have thought about it from your perspective. I will speak with him."

"I can handle it myself -" she started, and he stepped back, face a familiar mask of stubborness.

"I know you can, but it's important that somebody explain it to him. Like Kiba said, he's never had anybody to tell him these things. And I'm not sure you have the...patience that the conversation will require."

Kiba just snorted. "Understatement," he grumbled, and grinned when she glared at him. After a moment, though, her eyes softened.

"Sorry we dragged you into our fight, Kiba," she said, and he shrugged, then moved back into a jog.

"Nah, that's what teammates are for, right?" he said and was rewarded with two smiles and a happy bark from Akamaru.

000

The next day, Kurenai stopped them before they could start in on practice. "I have something important to talk to you about." They exchanged looks, then turned back to her.

"What is it, sensei?" Gaara asked, and she smiled at them.

"Nothing bad. Actually, I've nominated you for the chunin exams, and it was approved." She was met with three blanks stares, and sighed. "They're international competitions that are held once a year. Allied villages use them as a chance to showcase talent, build international relations, and decide who should or should not be promoted to chunin."

Sakura frowned. "But...we've only been genin for five months," she said. "Doesn't it usually take a year on average to be promoted?"

Kurenai nodded. "Yes. Honestly, the goal here isn't promotion. I just think this will be good practice for you all, and a way to get some first hand experience with foreign shinobi. Not to mention it puts you in combat situations in a controlled environment. That does not mean," she said in a sharp tone of voice that they knew better than to argue with, "that this is not dangerous. People die in these exams. I want you to think carefully on whether you want to attend. If you don't feel you're ready, that's fine. We can wait for next year's."

The three of them exchanged thoughtful looks, and Sakura already knew they'd agree. Any chance to get experience was something they couldn't turn down. Kurenai seemed to catch on, because she smiled ruefully.

"The exams start in a week and a half. They're being held jointly between Suna and Konoha. Generally, they only take place in one village, but Konoha offered to have Suna co-host this year as part of our continued efforts to jump-start their economy." At her students' questioning looks, she explained. "Many people come from other countries to watch the tournaments or network, so it brings in a lot of tourism. Sand has worked hard to rebuild, this is a good way to get people to take a chance on them."

They nodded their understanding, and Kurenai held out a stack of papers to them. "The first two rounds are in Suna. If you decide to attend, fill these out and bring them to me tomorrow. We would leave in four days."

000

Sakura glanced at her parents, then at Gaara. They had been acting strange since their mission to Wind Country. She knew that they weren't happy about the direction Gaara and she were taking with their careers - what parent would be? - but this level of tenseness was overkill.

They'd asked leading questions about people they'd met while they were there, and whether they'd met any Sand shinobi. They'd seen a few at a distance, but not talked to any of them, and for some reason her parents had seemed relieved about it. Gaara had suggested that maybe they were worried about them having a run in with shinobi after hearing the rumors going around about Team Seven's mission. Sakura hadn't been able to think of any other explanation, and had accepted it.

Their reaction to Team Eight's plan to travel to Suna for the chunin exams was making Sakura think they'd been wrong about the reasons behind their weird behavior.

"You're too young! You should wait a year, take this time to continue training," Kizashi said. Sakura glanced at her mother, whose face was white, lips pursed and eyes wide.

"Kurenai-sensei says it would be just for practice," Sakura said soothingly. "I don't think she actually expects us to be promoted."

"These exams are dangerous. I can't believe she'd be so cavalier with your safety," Kizashi said, and slammed his cup of sake down on the table with an unnecessary amount of force. "Plus, Suna is still in upheaval. You should stay far away from it until it's back on its feet."

Gaara frowned. "Sensei says that Sand is doing well in its rebuilding efforts -"

"I forbid it," Kizashi said abruptly, and Sakura and Gaara gaped at their father. He was generally very easy going, and despite his unhappiness with their choice of specialization, had always been supportive of their decision to become shinobi.

"Dad you...can't actually do that," Sakura finally settled on. The conversation just went downhill from there.

000

They met at the gates four days later, Sakura and Gaara with identical faces of annoyance - their father had remained steadfast in his disapproval of their decision to participate in the exams, and had been horrible to live with as a result.

Sakura glanced over at Ino's team, who were standing a few feet away. Kurenai was smiling at Asuma as they discussed the route they'd be taking, and Ino was loudly lecturing her male teammates on the importance of not embarrassing her. Apparently they'd heard it all before, because Chouji was steadily making his way through a bag of rice balls, nodding periodically, and Shikamaru was leaning against the wall, expression grumpy and arms crossed over his chest.

Team Seven had just arrived, and Sakura waved at Hinata, who was glancing back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke as they bickered. Surprise, surprise. Naruto stopped talking when he saw them, and immediately went solemn when he spotted Sakura. Looks like Gaara had found the time to talk to him about his Sakura-stalking. To have been a fly on that wall...

After years of being followed around by Naruto, Sakura had doubted that it would make a difference, but to her surprise, he just gave a small wave and greeting instead of yelling out her name or telling her she looked pretty. Huh, Gaara really did have some special talent in Naruto communication.

"Dynamic entry!" Sakura jumped as the silence of the early morning was broken by two green blurs appearing in front of Team Seven. Sakura gaped at the large man wearing spandex that was now leaning into Hatake Kakashi's personal space.

"Hmm? Did somebody say something?" Kakashi said in a bored voice, eye riveted on his book.

"Eternal Rival! I challenge you to complete this journey walking on our hands! The first to falter loses!" He struck a pose, and a miniature version of him with oddly shaped overly round eyes and bushy eyebrows stared at him in obvious worship.

"As usual, my rival is so hip and cool, but you cannot get out of this challenge that easily!" The man yelled. Kakashi continued to read.

"Gai-sensei! I too will partake in this challenge. You!" the smaller version of the man harassing Kakashi pointed at Sasuke. "Are you Uchiha Sasuke, rumored genius and student of my sensei's eternal rival?"

Sasuke stared at him, looking him up and down with disdain, and scoffed before turning away.

"Aha! I will prove that I, a genius of effort, can beat the genius of circumstance in any challenge!"

Sakura exchanged glances with Gaara and Kiba as the drama continued to unfold - Gai and his student goading Sasuke and Kakashi until suddenly all four of them had taken to their hands and were darting out of the village, feet in the air. It was...truly undignified. Even Naruto looked a little shell shocked.

Sakura looked over at their abandoned teammates. "Um. You guys can walk with us," she offered, and found herself following the four challengers at a more sedate pace in the company of girls her own age while their male teammates followed behind. Tenten was a little quiet and focused, but she pulled Sakura into a conversation about her katana, which had appeared at the end of her bed the day after Kurenai had announced their nomination.

Sakura had assumed it was her mother who had put it there, though she had just smiled mysteriously when Sakura asked about it. She knew better than to make a big deal of it, considering her father's stance on them attending the exams. Rooster had told her to start carrying it strapped beside her bokken, and spent four brutal hours practicing with her so she'd get used to using a naked blade. He'd then warned her only to draw it when she intended to draw blood - otherwise she should stick to the bokken. Rooster was just a ball of sunshine.

The sheath was black, as was the handle, the only spot of color an engraved cherry tree blossom just below the top of the hilt. Sakura, of course, loved it, and had already spent a ridiculous amount of time admiring and cleaning it.

All in all, as they walked through the fresh, warm summer air, her team at her side while she enjoyed the company of their fellow genin, Sakura couldn't help but feel optimistic about the upcoming exams. After all, what could be worse than training with Rooster-sensei?

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**The end.**

**I hope you enjoyed this story a lot.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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